Got Your Heart in a Headlock
by Kat A. Klysmic
Summary: Takes place after ep.1 of season two. Zuko and Iroh run into Aang and the others in a mountain sanctuary. Aang and Sokka are forced to leave an injured Katara behind with two old women, Zuko, and Iroh. ZUTARA!
1. Rain

Authors note: Just for the sake of the contents in this story, we're just going to say that everyone is about three years older. The story is placed right after the first episode of the new season. This is a ZukoxKatara fic, so if you're a KataraxAng fan, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed ;;;;

Oh and of course I don't own avatar, that should go without saying XD

**Got your heart in a headlock**

Chapter 1: Rain

Thunder crashed and was echoed by its brother lightning that lit up the sky and the heavy black clouds that surrounded the three human companions on the back of the avatar's flying bison. The storm clouds were an angry black color flecked by flashes of lightening as they disgorged their watery loads onto the fliers. The water drops stung Aang's eyes and pattered off his bald and tattooed cranium as he sat on Appa's head directing his spirit companion as well as he could through the storm, dodging lightning as they went.

Behind him on the bison's large saddle Sokka was getting thoroughly drenched as he held onto his sister to the best of his abilities. The siblings slid willy-nilly in the wet saddle as the flying bison was battered back and forth by powerful winds. Katara moaned in her brothers arms each time they slid. The waterbender clutched her side, obviously in intense pain. Sokka looked at her, worry echoing in his blue eyes as he clung to his sister, doing his best to keep them both still. He turned his head and shouted up to Aang, hoping the young avatar would be able to hear him over the noise of the storm.

"Aang! We have to land! Katara's in too much pain! I think she really broke something during that earlier jolt!" he screamed as loud as he could.

The wind nearly blotted out his words, but Aang managed to hear them.

"I can't! There's no land and the seas are too rough to land in them!" He yelled back over his shoulder. His brow was furrowed with apprehension at the news about Katara though. He knew they'd have to land soon lest Katara receive a further, more damaging battering from the ruthless storm. The young monk fought to keep down his panic.

Sokka began to feel desperate as his sister moaned in pain again, eyes clenching closed tightly, her breath coming in shallow gasps. She couldn't concentrate enough to even analyze what might be wrong with her, and if she could heal it. The constant rain, noise, and wind would have made it nearly impossible as it was.

"Sokka…It hurts…" she whimpered.

The waterbender's brother narrowed his eyes in grim determination, wrapping one arm around his sister protectively. "I know, just hang on a little longer! We'll find someplace soon, I promise." He told her, hoping his sister could hear him over the elements, despite their close proximity. The water tribe warrior looked around, squinting his eyes against the storm. He saw a light far below them and off to the right. At first he thought it was only yet another flash of lightening, sending chills through the teen's spine as he recalled the multiple near misses they'd already had. He thought twice about the light though when it did not fade from view, but remained small and constant in the dark of the storm, like a beacon…

It suddenly struck Sokka as to what it must be.

"Aang! Down there, to the left! I think that's a light house!" he yelled, pointing to help get his message across.

Once again the avatar had to strain to hear what his friend was saying, he caught only a few words, but when Sokka started pointing, Aang looked off to the right and also spotted the light.

"A light house!" He cried joyfully, immediately pulling Appa's reigns to direct them towards it.

Sokka couldn't help but roll his eyes. But he was distracted from his sarcasm by the immense relief he felt though now that they had finally found someplace to land and care for his sister.

* * *

Somewhere far below, on the ground in the general vicinity of the same lighthouse that Sokka had spotted, crouched an angry, wet, and disheveled ex-fire nation prince. He sat back to back with his uncle, the once great general Iroh. Together they had sought sanctuary from the storm under the low hanging branches of a weeping willow, which was doing more than its fair share of weeping thanks to the torrential downpour falling from the dark sky. 

"What I wouldn't give for some nice, relaxing ginseng tea." Iroh said, rubbing his chin with one hand while he kept the other in his sleeve to keep it warm.

"This is no time for _tea_, Uncle. Or have you forgotten that we're on the run?" Zuko demanded of the elderly man that he was currently sitting with his back to. The ex-prince shivered slightly as yet more water dripped from the thick branches above his head and onto his neck where it proceeded to run down his spine until it was soaked up by the cloth of his shirt. He rubbed his wet head irately with one hand to get some of the water out of his hair. Since the nineteen year old had cut off his top knot; a motion representing the fact that he was not longer part of the fire nation; the rest of the hair on his head had begun rapidly growing back now that he no longer took the time to shave it regularly. Already he had an inch of black hair where there had once only been pale, shiny skin.

Water droplets flew out of his hair as he rubbed one calloused hand through it rapidly. Zuko settled back down into his crouch, knees brought up to his chest to avoid as much of the dripping water as possible as it seeped through the tree's thickly knit leaves.

"If you are cold, Zuko use your breath of fire, it will warm you." The prince's uncle reminded him, demonstrating. It wasn't as strong as usual when the fire exited the old mans mouth thanks to all the rain, but it clearly warmed Iroh enough to make him able to relax a bit more against his nephews back.

Zuko rapidly followed suite, inhaling air to fan his inner fire, and then exhaling a small burst of flames through his mouth. The technique did indeed warm him substantially, making him less miserable than before. He settled back against his uncle, sighing. He closed his eyes half-way; the constant rhythm of the rain hitting the leaves lulled him into a calm state of mind for the first time in several weeks after being constantly on the run.

The prince thought back to the battle at the north pole, how he had used his breath of fire to warm himself then too. His desperate search for the avatar, and the elation he had felt when he'd found him, defenseless and unaware of the world around him as he meditated. Of course there had been that bothersome waterbending girl that the avatar traveled with. She had put up a good fight. He found the he had to admit, grudgingly of course, that she was indeed a competent, even powerful bender. If the sun had not risen when it had, Zuko might have been defeated. But it had, and he hadn't, so, having triumphed over the peasant girl, he had carried the avatar out into the wastes of the North Pole. His plan had gone awry though when not only had a blizzard come up, but the avatar had regained consciousness as his allies arrived. This time, with the help of the full moon, the waterbender had beaten him, something the ex-prince was ashamed to admit. Adding insult to injury, the Avatar had also shown him mercy, and saved him from freezing to death in the wastes.

The prince scowled at the thought of the bald monk saving him. He had escaped though, as the moon turned red, and then disappeared all together, casting the world into darkness as Zhao killed the moon spirit. Zuko had no idea how it was that the moon had returned to grace the icy night sky, only that it had. He suspected that the Avatar and his friends had had something to do with it. He had to admit that it was a good thing they had done whatever they had done, lest the balance of the very planet be thrown off. Even now he remembered the wrath of the ocean spirit who had used the avatar as a vessel to carry out its wrath against the fire nation navy, and how it had won.

The nineteen year old held his head in his hands as he thought about all the damage that had surely occurred, not to mention the loss of lives to the fire nation soldiers. After a moment though, he narrowed his eyes at this thought. It wasn't his problem anymore, he was nothing but a banished prince, Zuko wasn't even a part of the fire nation now. He snorted angrily, steam rising off his clothes from the heat of his breath. Soon though, the anger soon faded into insecurity and uncertainty about the future.

"What am I supposed to do, Uncle? I've lost everything, my honor, my kingdom, my fathers respect. Should I even continue my search for the avatar? It's all so pointless now…"

His questions went unanswered though as a soft snore emanated from the former general, showing that he had already fallen asleep, perhaps some time ago.

Zuko could only sigh and shake his head as he settled into a comfortable position and let himself drift off into much needed sleep, lulled by the pattering of the rain.

* * *

Not so far away from the prince and his uncle, Aang landed his flying bison in a clearing outside an earth kingdom village. The two boys were debating over whether or not they should go into the village to find a doctor. Aang was of the mind that they should find another town, because he was sure that he had seen fire nation soldiers as they had flown over. Sokka on the other hand told the avatar he had seen no such thing and that even if they were there, he'd go in anyways to get help for his sister. 

"Look! This isn't getting us anywhere! It's the middle of the night, and it's still pouring rain! We should find some temporary shelter and get Katara out of the rain until morning. Then we can go in and scout things out to see if it's safe." Aang said, tired of arguing with Sokka.

Sokka sighed. He couldn't argue with that. Aang was right, even if they did go into the village, the chances of finding a doctor in the middle of night in a pouring rain were slim.

"Alright, let's find some cover, and we'll go find a doctor in the morning." Sokka said, rubbing his forehead tiredly.

Between them, the two boys quickly found a rocky overhang and Aang led Appa, Katara and the supplies still on his back, over to it. It wasn't quite large enough for the bison, but they found that they could use Appa as something like a door to block out the rain and wind while the three humans lay together.

They lay Katara down on her sleeping back, which had luckily remained dry thanks to the tarp covering on it. The female waterbender shivered, her blue eyes had a feverish glow to them. The girl sneezed and curled up into a ball, wincing as something in her torso pained her.

Aang walked over while Sokka started a fire and sat down beside her. "Katara, you look pretty bad, are you going to be okay?" He asked, his grey eyes looking down at her in concern.

"I…think I broke a rib when I got tossed against the saddle during the storm." She said, shivering. "I'm fine for now, but I need to see a doctor soon." She said weakly.

"Right, we'll find one soon, I promise." Aang said, covering her with the flap of her sleeping bag. "You just get some rest and…" Aang was suddenly interrupted by Sokka's voice.

"Ah, guys, I think we have a visitor…" The water tribe boy said, grasping his sharpened boomerang in one hand and a long knife in the other. He was glaring down someone walking toward them from outside their overhang.

* * *

Zuko was awoken by the sound of footsteps outside their cover of long leafed foliage. He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, it was impossible to tell with all the clouds in the sky, though it did seem a bit brighter from what he could tell. The rain had lightened a little as well. 

"Uncle...Uncle wake up." Zuko whispered to the old man at his back, jostling him slightly with an elbow as he kept an eye on the person just barely visible on the other side of the screen of low hanging branches.

Iroh awoke immediately and was about to say something when he saw the look on his nephews face, quickly noting the fact that the nineteen year old was in much of a fighting stance as their limited space would allow. The old man readied himself as well, leaving questions for later.

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Alright everyone! Please tell me what you think of my fic! I'd really like to hear what you have to say, as well as any suggestions. Is it too long? Too short?

You'll have to forgive this chapter, I couldn't really have too much happen since I have to set up the plot and such, but I swear this is a ZukoxKatara fic! XD Just let me get around to it! And don't worry, there will be more interaction between characters by chapter 3!

PS: oh yeah, one more thing. The title I got from a song called 'Headlock' by Imogen Heap. It's a great song, look it up some time! I thought it kinda related to Katara and Zuko, and I couldn't think of anything else, so I went with it for a title.


	2. Mountain Sanctuary

Author's note: I'd like to thank Sonamyfan and Storybender for their reviews! although Storybender brought something to my attention. I just wanted to remind everyone that I _did_ move everyones age up by about three years, just for the sake of the content of this story. Anywho, read and enjoy, then review please!**  
**

**Got your heart in a headlock**

Chapter 2: Mountain Sanctuary

Aang was on his feet and beside Sokka in a gust of wind, sliding gracefully into a fighting stance, ready to protect his friends. Sokka shifted his feet slightly, widening his own stance as he watched the unknown figure with wary blue eyes as hard as ice.

"Who's there!" Aang called, holding his bending staff at the ready as the person came ever closer.

* * *

As the hand reached through their screen of branches to brush aside the leaves of the weeping willow, Zuko shot out a small warning flame at the persons' hand. They immediately snatched it back, hissing in pain.

"Who goes there?" The prince demanded in a low, growling voice, fists held at the ready.

"H-Hold your fire! (ha ha...pun...) I am unarmed and come in peace. Please, come out." The voice was clearly that of an older woman, who, by the sound of it, was standing just in front of the weeping willow under which the two exiled firebenders were hiding.

* * *

"Wait, please! I am unarmed! I saw a large flying beast come down in this clearing…" said an elderly voice.

Aang relaxed his grip on his bending staff, but did not rise from his fighting stance just in case. Sokka didn't move at all.

"Alright, come in." The avatar said eventually, grey eyes watching closely for any hint of treachery as an old woman entered their camp. She was old and stooped, using a wooden cane to help her walk. The cane and the old woman's foot steps echoed on the rocky ground as shuffled forward. The woman wore an all green kimono, tied with a darker green sash that matched the pants she wore under it. She had brown eyes and white hair, and a face as wrinkly as an old prune. But there was a kind of life force in her eyes that bespoke both power, and kindness.

"Who are you, what do you want?" Sokka demanded, inching closer to his sister, who was lying on her sleeping bag, watching, but clearly in too much pain to do any more than that.

"You can call me Grandma Eri, youngster." She said with a lively cackling laugh that echoed around the inside of the rocky ledge. She turned her bright eyed gaze from Sokka to Aang, looking the fifteen year old over, her gaze lingering over his blue arrow tattoos and his air bending staff.

"Child…tell me, are you…the avatar?" She asked in a quaking voice, her eyes shining with hope and adoration.

Aang was suddenly filled with the feeling that they could trust this old woman. He could just sense something about her.

"I am. It's nice to meet you." The boy replied, bowing slightly from the waist as he relaxed his body completely, showing both her, and his companions that he trusted this old woman.

Sokka watched Aang closely, raising both his eyebrows at the old lady, thinking her quite mad. When his friend bowed to her though, he too relaxed. "And I'm Sokka." He added. The water tribe warrior turned slightly to look at his sister and said "This is my sister Katara…" he was about to explain, but Aang suddenly interrupted him.

"Please, can you help my friend? I think she has some broken ribs, and she might have a fever. We've been out in this storm for hours because we couldn't land." The avatar explained.

The old woman smiled widely and said "Well you've come to the right old lady then, lads!" she said and cackled again. "My sister and I happen to be a part of a network of people that smuggle those being pursued by the fire nation…but don't tell." She whispered, winking at them. She stood up straighter though and said in a slightly more audible tone "We'd be more than happy to help you and your friends, avatar. You may stay with us as long as you deem necessary." She said kindly. "My sister and I are proficient healers, so she will be well taken care of."

Both Aang and Sokka's faces lit up and they grinned broadly at each other and they each began to spout their gratitude at the old woman.

"Thank you so much!" Aang cried.

"You won't regret this!" said Sokka, thoroughly relieved.

"If you ever need anything, just let us know!"

"We'll do whatever we can to help!"

"Yeah!"

"Katara, isn't this great? You can see a doctor and get better…" Sokka started to say, but his voice instantly trailed off as he looked back at his sister, who had apparently fainted. Her breathing was shallow and her normally dark skin was beginning to pale. Sokka began to panic.

"We've got to help her! Now!" He cried, crouching down and taking his sister up in his arms.

"Please Grandma Eri, take us to your house? Katara…I'm afraid for her, she's not looking too good." The avatar said, looking upset. He had done well so far hiding this feeling of worry that had been growing inside him, but his best friend's worsening condition was putting large cracks in his emotional defenses.

The elderly woman's eyes darkened, also worried for the young, pretty girl in Sokka's arms.

"Right. Get on your flying bison and I'll direct you there." She said. The two boys immediately followed her orders.

* * *

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the voice, unsure of whether or not he should trust it. Sure, it _sounded_ like the person outside was an old woman, and alone, but could he trust her? How was he to know that it wasn't all an elaborate trap set up by his conniving sister, Azula?

Iroh placed a calming hand on his nephews forearm, nodding to him, clearly saying that he should trust this unseen old woman. The former general had heard of a group in the earth kingdom that harbored and protected those that the fire nation sought. Not only that but they were in the same general area that the reports always stemmed from. Perhaps this woman could take he and his nephew to the group.

Zuko nodded slowly at his uncle, deciding to trust his judgment. Even if it were an ambush, staying inside a flammable tree would not be a good idea.

Silently the former prince drew aside the curtain of leafy branches and stepped out, followed closely by his uncle. Every nerve was on edge, ready for a surprise attack.

The young firebender was almost disappointed in the person that stood before him, though he knew that was absurd. It was indeed an old woman, and she was by herself. She had short, graying hair and dark brown eyes that were set deep in her wrinkly face. The woman wore traditional earth kingdom clothes, a green kimono accompanied by pants and a matching sash.

"Well now! To what do I owe the honor of having the fire prince and the fire lord's brother in my mountains?" The old woman said with a cackling laugh, her brown eyes sparkling in a lively, unafraid manner.

Zuko frowned and was about to snap at the old hag, but Iroh put his hand on his nephew's shoulder and smiled genially.

"I am afraid that my nephew and I are on the run. Until just last night we were fleeing a squad of firenation soldiers led by princess Azula."

"Uncle! I do not think…" Zuko began to object, glaring at his uncle as he spoke to the woman. What was he thinking! How could they trust this old woman? Who knew who she would tell that she had seen the exiled fire prince and general Iroh out in the woods? Azula would be all over them like flies on a rotted carcass!

Iroh once again silenced his nephew and said "Now that we've told you our story, perhaps you'd tell us yours? What is a fine lady such as you doing out in the woods by herself?" the old man asked with a grin.

Zuko rubbed his face in frustration. His uncle could be such a flirt! They didn't have time for this! Azula could be on their trail right now!

"On the run from the firenation, eh? Well, anyone running from them is a friend of mine! The name's Emi. You can call me Grandma Emi, youngster." She said, winking at Zuko.

The young man just sighed and rolled his eyes, though his bout of cynicism was interrupted by the sudden urge to sneeze. He tried to hold it back, but it came out in a small burst of flame. Zuko sniffed and rubbed his nose as he shivered.

"Oh you poor things! Here I am yattering on and letting you stand in the rain, getting soaked to the bone…Please, why don't you come stay with my sister Eri and I?" She asked with a kind smile. It faded a little as she leaned forward and whispered "Don't tell anyone this of course, but my sister and I are the ones that have been running that secret underground people smuggling service that's been driving you fire nation types up the wall." She said with a cackle as she stood and started to walk in the direction from which she came.

"Come along now! You're not going to get any drier out here in the rain!" she called back to the two firebenders.

Zuko and Iroh exchanged a look, and then nodded to one another. What else could they do but follow her? It had to be better, not to mention safer, than spending the night cold and miserable under the boughs of a weeping willow. Iroh trotted on ahead and began talking cheerfully with the old woman. It wasn't long before they were both laughing quietly together, refraining from being too loud for fear of being noticed.

Zuko followed along behind, sulking as usual. He hoped they would get there soon. He could feel his cold getting worse thanks to all this stupid rain.

* * *

After a short flight up the mountain that the small group had originally been camped at the base of, Aang and Sokka carefully lowered the unconscious Katara from Appa's back. Grandma Eri leapt from the flying bison's back, proving that she was a very hale old woman despite her appearance. Appa let out a moan as he was relieve of his burdens, and lay down right there in the middle of the courtyard where he had landed. Aang decided he'd let him stay there for the moment. Right now, he was worried more about Katara.

The old woman waited for the two boys to figure out how they were going to carry the girl and their things between them. While she waited, she looked around the courtyard idly. It was practically a natural fortress with ten foot high walls of stone made by earth benders rather than more traditional means of building, making them smooth and unbroken. The only way in on foot was through a series of underground passages that led from various points in the forest and the nearby town. Despite all the surrounding rock, there were actually several trees within the walls, as well as a soft, downy covering of grass across the area, disturbed only by the occasional stone path. A handful of the trees were cherry trees that were now in full blossom, lending the clear mountain air their sweet fragrance. Now though the flowery scent mixed with that of the rain and wet earth, giving the place what she thought to be a heavenly fragrance. This place acted as sanctuary to anyone who needed help escaping the fire nation.

Grandma Eri turned and saw that the boys had finally pulled themselves and their things together. After some trial and error, they had figured out a way to carry everything, plus their young friend between them.

"Alright boys, just follow me this way. I'll take you to a room you can stay in, but we'll take your young friend to the infirmary first." She said, and instantly started off at a brisk pace, picking a path that led into the large building before them. On the outside it was made of a kind of dark stone with veins of quartz in it, with supporting pillars and cherry wood doors. On the inside though the walls were a pale shade of bamboo green that was pleasant to the eyes and gave a sense of cool tranquility. They passed several small doors until they came to a double set of sliding doors, which grandma Eri quickly opened to make room for the boys to wall through. There were several cots lined up against a long wall that was the same soothing color as the rest of the interior.

"Here, lay her on this cot over here and I'll have one of the nurses look after her." Eri said kindly, fetching a pillow and placing it on a cot by the window. Aang and Sokka quickly shuffled over and placed Katara on the cot, both of them huffing and puffing by now.

"Man, we really gotta stop letting her eat so much!" Sokka complained, putting one hand to his lower back as he stood upright.

"It's not her that's so heavy, it's her parka. It's soaked and full of water." Aang said, regaining his breath and stretching. The bald monk yawned widely. The action seemed contagious because Sokka soon followed suit.

"You boys look exhausted, come along and I'll show you to your room." Eri said with a smile, herding the two boys out as they both cast glances back at their sick friend.

"Now don't you boys worry, she'll be just fine." She said and pushed them right out the door as a nurse came in and began divesting Katara of her soaked parka.

Aang and Sokka obediently followed the elderly woman back out of the building and across the courtyard to another section of the building. By now the rain had let up to all but a light drizzle. It was so peaceful out that it was hard to believe that just an hour ago they had been in the middle of a terrifying storm. As they were about to enter one door, a second, nearby door opened and a second old woman entered the open area, followed by two others. The identity of those two made the avatar pale.

Zuko blinked his eyes rapidly to adjust them to the light after spending so much time in the darkness of the tunnel. The old woman they had met had led them into it about fifteen minutes ago, and the only light had been that of a single candle the she had carried. The dank cave had made him shiver, forcing him to use his breath of fire several times, though he could tell that he wasn't just cold anymore; he was coming down with something.

All of this was forgotten though as soon as the ex-fire prince's eyes cleared, and the first person he saw, was none other than the avatar.

"Uncle! It's the avatar!" Zuko called, sliding smoothly into a fighting stance, fists at the ready. Aang quickly did the same, ready to protect himself and his friends from the wrath of the fire prince.

* * *

Man! A cliff hanger! I'm terrible, I know. So far Katara's hardly spoke at all, but I _swear_ that this _is_ a zutara fanfic! Just give me a little more time. I promise that there will definitely be some Zuko-Katara interaction next chapter! Until then, let me know what you think! 


	3. The Encounter

Authors note: Once again there's the whole 'I don't own avatar' thing. Also, since I've been getting so many comments about it, I'll say this again, **I _know_ I made everyone older here by about three years than they are in the show, but I did it for the sake of later content in the story**. **In other words it was intentional!**

**Ages in my story just for reference:**

**Aang: 15  
Sokka:18  
Katara:17  
Zuko: 19  
Iroh: uh…old**

Now, on to the story!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter Three: The Encounter

Sokka hadn't seen the pair of firebenders enter, but he automatically pulled out his sharpened boomerang and went into his fighting stance as he heard the prince's familiar voice. He didn't actually look until a few moments later, and when he did, the young man blinked in surprise at the seemingly transformed prince. If he hadn't heard him in the first place, it probably would have taken him a second or two longer to recognize Zuko, despite the large scar on his face. The prince actually had _hair_. Sure he'd always had that ridiculous little top-knot on the back of his head, but this was different. Now he had a whole head full of short black growth on his head. It certainly made a difference in his appearance.

Sokka snapped out of it though as a ball of flame hurtled towards him and Aang. The water tribe warrior threw himself out of its blazing path with a shout.

Aang did the same, jumping on his air scooter to get himself out of the fires path. He zipped around until the prince kicked, shooting another flame towards the young avatar. Caught off guard, Aang was knocked off his feet and sent rolling. He made it to his feet after the second roll, and held his own hands at the ready as he and Zuko began to circle one another, their feet moving smoothly across the wet grass. Aang couldn't help but wonder how the prince had managed to get here. How had he known that Aang and his friends had escaped and taken refuge here?

Zuko himself was suddenly having second thoughts as well. What was he doing? was there any reason for him to be fighting the avatar now that his own nation was after him? He didn't think there was, but his pride wasn't about to let him back out of the fight first.

Just as Aang and Zuko moved to attack again, they found themselves hitting a rapidly rising piece of rock. Aang collided head on with the thing, and Zuko punched it. The fifteen year old avatar let out a yell of pain as he was sent rolling backwards by his collision. Sokka quickly ran over to him, helping him upright and glaring around, looking for the source of the earth bending that had interrupted the two.

Zuko snatched his wounded hand back, cursing as he shook out his bruised fingers; his Uncle came over, tutting to him and asking him where his manners had gone. The prince glared over at the two women who were still in their fighting stance, making it clear that it had been them that had raised the wall of earth between the two boys.

"Now now, we will have none of that fighting nonsense here you three!" said grandma Eri.

"Indeed! Everyone here is in the same boat, so I suggest you learn to play nice or you'll all find yourselves on the other side of that wall." Grandma Emi said, pointing at the smooth rock wall that surrounded the entire compound.

Grandma Eri made a gesture and the small rock wall she and her sister had summoned sank into the ground. Both parties could immediately see that the two were indeed sisters, as well as earth benders. Grandma Eri was apparently the elder sister, while Emi was the younger.

"What do you mean in the same boat! That's the fire prince and his uncle!" Zuko shouted, pointing at the two firebenders, clearly outraged.

Zuko glared fiercely at Sokka, but he only snorted and turned away from the annoying boy, slowly getting more and more wet from the drizzle that still fell from the ominous clouds above them. He managed to keep in another sneeze as he tried to look haughty towards the water peasant and the avatar. He found it a little difficult to do though with the water trickling down his scalp and into his eyes and down his spine.

"Ah, but I am afraid you are mistaken young man." Iroh said, speaking up as he stood beside his nephew, placing one comforting hand on Zuko's shoulder. He knew the boy had to be fighting very hard indeed not to blow up right now.

"What do you mean?" Aang asked, clearly confused as he bent and picked up his staff. He didn't make a move to attack though, he merely stood there, listening to what the old man had to say. After all, as avatar it was his job to hear all sides of the story.

"My brother, the Fire Lord has officially sent men after Zuko, with the intention of taking him back to the fire nation and locking him up. Making him their prisoner." The old man said with a sad frown.

Zuko looked over at his uncle, surprised Iroh had not mentioned that it wasn't just anyone after him, but his only sister. He wasn't about to tell them though, so the ex-prince just snorted. "Are you happy now _boy_?" He shot bitterly as Sokka.

Sokka growled and lunged for the prince angrily. Zuko made to attack as well, but the avatar suddenly interfered, leaping between the two teenagers and blowing them both apart with a powerful gust of wind.

"That's enough you guys! Emi and Eri are right, we're all in the same boat so we shouldn't be fighting like this!" He said firmly. "Now I suggest we all get along, or at least pretend too without going for each others throats every few seconds." He said, looking sternly from Zuko to Sokka. Sokka averted his eyes and nodded sullenly. His friend was right. If what Iroh said was true, it wouldn't do Zuko any good to go after the Avatar anymore anyways. He'd be locked up just like Aang would.

Zuko was about to snap that he didn't have to take orders from some fifteen year old kid, but his uncle rested one of his weathered hands on his shoulder, clearly telling him to just accept it and move on. "Fine, whatever." He said, shrugging off his uncle's hand. He was about to storm off, but quickly realized he had no idea where he was, or where he would go. So instead he stood and tapped his foot rather impatiently, looking away from Aang and the water peasant. Suddenly he looked back, his brow furrowed as he suddenly realized that the Avatar's group was missing a person. Where was the girl? Had something happened to her? He shook off the thoughts. It didn't matter to him what happened to the water bender. It was just one less person in his way to the avatar…Zuko sighed, rubbing his temples slightly as he felt a headache begin to take root in his mind. He needed to get out of this frame of mind. He wasn't after the avatar anymore, he was on the run. On the run from his own country…

Iroh looked at his nephew closely. He didn't like how pale the boy was beginning to look. He reached out and grasped his arm as the ex-prince began to sway slightly.

"Zuko, are you alright?" the old man asked with fatherly concern.

"No, Uncle, I'm not." Zuko said, looking at his uncle with darkened gold eyes. It was obvious to Iroh that his nephew was unwell in more that just one fashion. Zuko caught the dumb water peasant looking at him warily, and the avatar looking concerned. Concerned? Why would the boy care what happened to him? He was the one who had been chasing them across the world, trying to capture him...

A sudden wave of exhaustion washed over Zuko, bringing him to his knees. He could just barely hear several voices cry out around him. He heard his uncle say something, and the two old women shouting out orders. None of it really mattered though. Through the fog that was quickly enveloping his mind he couldn't help but wonder about the waterbender again, though he didn't know why she kept coming to mind. What had her name been anyways? For some reason, being unable to remember her name bothered him more than his condition at the moment. He weakly tried to brush off his uncles ministrations, attempting to tell him he was trying to think, and to leave him alone. Nothing came out though, and Zuko sighed mentally as he slipped gently into unconsciousness.

* * *

(And now we finally get to hear from Katara! XD) 

Katara fought her way slowly through darkness as she heard someone moving around the room. She found it quite impossible to open her eyes though. She was nearly wakened by a sudden outburst of noise from outside, and the person in the room left quickly as though to investigate. Before sinking wearily back into sleep, Katara wondered vaguely where she was, and why she was finally dry after so many hours of being drenched by the cold, unforgiving rain. There was still a pain in her side though, and so to escape it, she let herself return to unconsciousness.

* * *

After some indeterminate amount of time, Katara woke slowly. She opened her eyes from where she lay on her back on a bed. Ocean blue eyes stared up at the ceiling for a moment, as though the answers to her questions were pinned there on a piece of paper. After a time though the master waterbender let her gaze rove across the room, taking in the pale bamboo green of the walls, and the dark wooden doors. There was a large set of double sliding doors in the longest wall, and a smaller sliding wooden door on the smaller wall near her bed that looked as though it probably led to a storage room, or possibly a bathroom. Her gaze then drifted along the wall that the head of her bed was pushed up against. There were many beds just like hers; though only one other besides her own was occupied. As she looked closer she saw that curtains could be drawn closed between each bed for privacy, though currently all of them were pulled back. 

Katara shifted slightly, in bed, wondering where she was and how she had gotten there. She didn't think she was in any kind of peril at the moment, for surely if she had been she would be in a dark dungeon instead of a calm, peaceful infirmary. As she tried to move though, she hissed slightly as a pain shot through her side, making her pant for breath and lean back against her pillow again.

'_Oh wonderful. I must have broken a rib during that storm._' She thought to herself. She simply lay there, breathing evenly, until the pain faded to a dull throb once more. She looked over and saw someone lying in the bed next to hers. Curious as to whom it was, she rolled onto her side as slowly and carefully as possible. Luckily it was her other side in which the rib had been broken, so she was able to lay that way comfortably for a time. The person was tucked under the blankets, lying on his back, with his face turned away from her. It was obviously a man by the build of his body. He seemed lean and muscular, from what she could see. He had short black hair and pale skin, but other than that, that was all she could tell.

Katara sighed, feeling bored already, though she did enjoy being able to simply lay around for a change rather than constantly on the run. She couldn't help but wonder where Aang and Sokka were. Were they okay? She certainly hoped so.

The waterbender peeked under the blankets at herself and saw that she was wearing a plain green shift, under which her ribcage was tightly bandaged to aid in her healing. Her own healing powers wouldn't be of any use for broken bones unfortunately. Katara dropped the blankets back down and sighed heavily. Almost as though he were reacting to her gusty exhalation, the man in the bed next to her rolled over in his sleep. Katara turned to see who it was eagerly. Her eagerness turned to horror after a moment though and her breath caught in her throat. It had taken her a moment, but that scar…only one person she knew had a scar like that!

The young woman sat up, hissing in pain again as her ribs complained at the sudden movement, but she ignored it as she looked around for water to bend. She spotted a decorative fountain on the wall across from her and instantly began bending it across to her, readying the water whip should the prince suddenly wake and begin attacking her.

She was ready to lash out when Zuko started to move again, but suddenly her hand was caught by another's. She looked up and her eyes met those of the old man that the prince was known to travel with. He was his uncle if she wasn't mistaken.

"Let me go!" she cried, trying to pull away, but the movement only caused more pain to shoot through her body. She started to collapse, but the old man caught her and laid her back against her pillow gently. She watched with wide blue eyes as he motioned for her to remain quiet. The young woman was shocked by the old mans gentle nature. Why wasn't he attacking her? Just what was going on around here!

Iroh couldn't help but smile at the young water tribe girl as she stared up at him, surprise written all over her face. She was very feisty, pretty too. The old man pulled a chair up to the bed and sat beside her, still looking at his nephew. For awhile he didn't say anything as he watched Zuko toss and turn on his bed. When the ex-prince finally calmed down and fell into a deep sleep once more, Iroh finally spoke.

"Please excuse my rough treatment of you, but I couldn't let you hurt my nephew." He said with a kindly smile.

Ah, so she had been right. The old man _was_ Zuko's uncle. A person learned something surprising everyday. Speaking quietly the girl said "Excuse me but…just what is going on?" she asked him, looking the old man in the eyes with her intense blue ones. She wanted information, and she wanted it now.

"Ah, I see now. You must have been unconscious already when the young avatar brought you here." The old man said thoughtfully. "Let me explain." Iroh said as the girl just looked at him, still confused.

"My nephew and I are now fugitives of the Fire nation. My brother has ordered Zuko be captured and brought back to the fire nation where he will be locked up for the rest of his life." He said bitterly. "That is why neither of us have our top-knots anymore. Cutting them off is a ceremony representing the fact we no longer consider ourselves part of the fire nation." Iroh rubbed the top of his balding head with one hand, clearly unused to not having his top-knot there.

"So, you and prince Zuko aren't part of the fire nation any more? Does that mean he's not after Aang now?" She asked, shooting a glare at the back of the sleeping prince's head.

Iroh could only chuckle at the look she gave his nephew. The boy would have a hard time if he troubled her at all during their stay in the infirmary. His laugh faded though as he began to speak again "That's right. So technically Zuko is no longer a prince, though I am sure that one day, when his whole mess is over, he will regain his throne. As for the avatar…I do not know. I do not think so though. He would gain nothing from it if he did." The old man said with yet another sigh.

Katara looked at the old man before her, her cold blue eyes softening, tucking a stray strand of brown hair behind an ear as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I wish there were some other way." She said quietly. And she truly meant it. She couldn't say much for his nephew, but the old man seemed kind.

"So do I, so do I." Iroh said, patting the your water tribe girl's hand. Finally he stood and made to leave. "It has been a pleasure talking with you…"

"Katara." She said with a smile.

"Katara. What a beautiful name. You may call me Iroh." He said and made his way to the door. He paused once more though and said "But please, show my nephew some kindness. He is not so bad as he seems, and he has his reasons for tracking the avatar as much as you have yours for helping him. Can I count on you?" He asked her, a pleading look in his old eyes.

How could she say no to such a kind old man as he? "I can't promise anything, but…I will try." She said with a resigned nod and small smile.

"I wouldn't ask for any more than an honest try." The old man said with a smile and stepped out. He closed the door behind him and smiled slyly to himself.

'_Oh, I am good_._'_ He chuckled and headed off down the hall to his own room for the rest of the night, satisfied that he had at least gotten the girl to consider his nephew for a potential friendship.

Katara sighed and lay back down. What had she gotten herself into? She might give the prince, no _ex_-prince she reminded herself, a chance but she doubted he'd give her one. She lay back down, and having nothing better to do, let her eyes drift over to Zuko who had turned back around so he was facing her once more. Somehow, she thought, his face didn't look so harsh and frightening when he was asleep. He looked almost…peaceful actually. With the new growth of hair on his head, she decided he looked much better than he had with that ridiculous top-knot and shaved head of his. Katara shook herself as she found herself starting to think that he was actually rather handsome, even with the burn mark on his face. What was she thinking! He may not be her enemy anymore, but that didn't mean she _liked_ Zuko! She shook herself again and lay back on the pillows. Her eyes began to feel heavy and it wasn't long before the master waterbender was asleep once more.

* * *

Zuko slowly opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings before suddenly sitting up and looking around in surprise. He didn't know where he was at first, but when he looked out the window behind him he recognized the courtyard that he had nearly fought with the avatar in. The man slowly settled back into his bed, feeling a bit dizzy from sitting up so fast. Not only that, but he was hungry, starving actually. He hadn't eaten for the past two days, probably one of the reasons he had collapsed earlier. Zuko sighed heavily, clenching and unclenching the fist he had punched the rock with earlier, it still ached. He couldn't believe he had shown such weakness in front of the avatar and his idiot friend. Well, it wouldn't happen again. Zuko hit his bed in frustration, but then took a deep breath to calm himself. The most important thing was that he and his uncle were safe for the time being. Maybe they could stay for a time and rest, even if he did have to be around those two boys, it would still be better then being constantly on the run from his sister, Azula. 

But there he went again, thinking only of the two boys. What _had_ happened to the water bender? Why did he even care? Zuko sat up in bed once more, propping himself up against a pillow and took another look around the room. There was a decorative fountain on one wall, the big double doors, and another, smaller door off to one side. There was a whole row of beds in which his was included, though his placement in them puzzled him. Why had they placed him in the second to last bed instead of last? He looked over and nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw none other than the female water bender in the last bed in the room, right next to him.

"I must really be slipping not to have noticed her." He muttered to himself. "Or a lot sicker than I thought…" He looked over at the girl who was sleeping in her bed for the moment, the light shining in through the window brought both light and shadow to her dark skin. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically as she slept. Her long hair was still braided and was cast out to one side across her pillow as her face was turned toward him as she lay on her back. The two small beaded strands of hair that came from just above her temples and tucked into her braid were draped prettily across her attractive face…wait, attractive!

Zuko nearly slapped himself, though didn't for fear of waking her. What on earth was he thinking? Attractive? A waterbending peasant woman! Zuko shook himself but felt his eyes drawn back to her, roving over her smooth mocha skin, the fine, delicate hand that rested so easily on the pillow next to her head as she slept…Zuko was getting ready to actually slap himself this time, when the girl suddenly stirred. He knew he shouldn't stare, but he was. He felt a small jolt go through him as his golden eyes met with her sea blue ones. What was going on with him?

"Do you always stare at people when they wake up?" Katara asked as she stirred and caught him staring at her. Or had he been? Perhaps she was just seeing thing, but she could have sworn she had seen something in his eyes, something she had never seen there before…

"Only when they look as messy and muddled as you do." He retorted and looked away.

"Augh! Why I never!" she started angrily. Outraged, she sat up and threw her pillow at his head. Once again though with so much movement, pain lanced up her side, making her fall back again.

Zuko turned as he heard her start to yell, but was met by a pillow hitting him in the face.

"Hey! What the hell was that for!" he demanded, though he knew perfectly well what the answer was. He forgot his anger though as he saw how pale she had become and how she was clutching at her side, tears welling up in her pretty blue eyes. He realized that she wasn't just in here for being sick , but that she must have broken something as well.

What was he supposed to do? At one point he would have just turned and left her there, but now…maybe he should try and make a stab at making friends…uncle had always told him he should. But what was he thinking? Now wasn't the time for that, the girl was clearly in extreme pain.

The last think Katara saw before she fainted was Zuko heading for the door.

'_Great. He's probably going to just leave me here and let me writhe in pain'_ she thought groggily to herself through the fog of pain that enveloped her mind, obviously unable to hear him calling for a nurse before she slipped into the cold embrace of unconciousness.

* * *

Oh my god! we actually heard from Katara! XD 

I promise it only gets better from here on out! Expect even more Zutaraness next chapter! sorry i took so long setting up the story and all, but meh, whatever. Please send in a review! those really make my day!

Kat A. Klysmic


	4. Is it hot in here?

**OMG HEY YOU READ THIS OR ELSE! **

Authors note:

Hey guys! Kat here! Sorry it's taken me so long to update but I'm no longer on spring break, plus I was working on a little something for you guys! Go check it out here:

H t t p / www . deviantart .com / view / 30984123 /

(just delete all the spaces I had to stick in there)

again guys for all the great reviews!

Just on the thought that maybe **_someone_** reads these notes of mine, everyone in my fic is about three years older than in the show, though it's still placed in the same timeline. They're just…older XD

Anyhoo, insert the usual crudola about me not owning avatar here…

On to chapter four!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter four: Is it hot in here?

Katara's pain induced sleep was broken by several angry sounding voices echoing in her ears and making her head hurt after so much silence. As she came slowly up out of sleep, her mind still a little muddled, the waterbender could hear two men arguing loudly, while another tried to interfere and calm them, yet another was trying to shush them all and was muttering something about the patient trying to sleep. It was all interrupted though by a series of sneezes and a scream. Katara opened her eyes and rubbed them with one hand as she sat up slowly, blue eyes taking in the scene before her.

"Did you see that! He's trying to burn me!" Her brother protested, obviously the source of the scream she had heard seconds before.

"Sokka it was just an accident! Can't you see he's sick! He can't help sneezing!" Aang objected, trying to calm his outraged, high strung friend.

"Even so, he's the one that hurt Katara!" Sokka shouted, shaking Aang off of him.

Zuko just shot the water tribe boy a haughty glare and said "I did no such thing. The simpleton threw her pillow at me, upsetting whatever injury she already had."

"Don't call me a simpleton!" Katara shouted, joining in the ruckus being caused by the three boys, nearly throwing her pillow at the firebender again.

All three boys turned and looked at her in surprise as she objected to Zuko's name calling. She glowered at the older boy, but was interrupted by Aang who ran over immediately, beaming brightly at her as he jumped and landed gracefully in the chair beside her bed.

"Katara! Are you feeling better? I was worried!" the earnest air bender said, his grey eyes shining happily as he saw his friend looking better than she had the last time he'd seen her.

"Oh, I'm fine." She said with a small smile at her best friend. She went to stretch, but winced as her rib pained her once more. She could have cursed with frustration at her condition, but refrained from doing so; it was hardly lady-like. But it seemed to pain her every time she tried to make even the simplest movement!

Aang's eyes darkened when he saw the pained expression cross her face, he'd hoped that she'd be better after two days of rest, but apparently she had indeed broken a rib rather than bruising it liked they had hoped. At this rate, they would have to leave her behind when he went to Omashu to learn earth bending.

Sokka shot Zuko one more glare before going to his sister and sitting on the edge of her bed. "Katara, tell the truth. It's plain as day that you're in pain." He said, brow furrowed with worry for his sister's condition.

Katara sighed and lay back against her pillows carefully and looked at the two concerned boys by her side. They both looked so worried for her. Well, it wasn't like she could lie to them; they had come to know her too well during their long journey together.

"Yes, I am. Just about every time I move pain shoots up my side from my ribs. At this rate, I'll be useless to you guys on the trip to Omashu." She said, disappointedly.

Aang and Sokka exchanged a look, recalling a discussion they'd already had when they'd first arrived.

"Katara…Sokka and I were talking, and we think you should stay here." Aang began, a little sadly.

"What! You guys can't just leave me behind!" Katara protested.

"Don't worry Katara, as soon as Aang masters earth bending, we'll come back for you and then go off to find a firebender to teach Aang." Sokka said, and grabbed his sister's shoulder lightly. "Katara, you _need_ to stay here and get better! We'll be fine in Omashu without you. Just focus on getting better so that you can be ready to help us when we go on to find a firebender." Katara's older brother looked her in the eyes sternly as he spoke, and she knew he was right. At long last she nodded. They were right; she would just get in the way if she went now.

"Alright, I'll stay." She said unhappily. "But you better hurry and master earthbending and come back for me, okay Aang?" She said, looking at the avatar, giving him a look of mock severity.

"I will!" the young airbender said with a laugh. He quieted again though and said "Sokka and I will be leaving tomorrow morning; we'll stop in and say goodbye before we leave." Aang said, a little sadness showing through his normally happy exterior. He knew this was what had to be done though; it was for her own good. On impulse, he reached out and hugged her gently.

Katara hugged her young friend back and smiled before pulling away and saying "Now you guys get going. You should get packed." A sad smile graced her pretty face, and it nearly broke Aang's heart.

"Don't worry sis, we can handle it." Sokka said, standing and leading Aang out of the room.

* * *

Zuko stood and watched, almost indignant at being forgotten so easily as the waterbender awoke, immediately catching the attention of both the avatar and the water tribe boy. Now that he saw the two together, it became blatantly obvious that the waterbender and the older boy were related, most likely brother and sister from the looks of it.

'_Katara…so that's her name…'_ the young firebender thought to himself as he watched the three interact. The siblings showed such loyalty to the avatar that it nearly made Zuko jealous. He shook himself though and was brought back from thought as the nurse that had been trying to shush them earlier told him that he was in no condition to be out of bed. He shot her a harsh look but headed back to his bed none-the-less, not feeling like standing around any more. He pulled back the blankets and got in bed as the two other boys left, not missing the look that Sokka shot at him. At first he lay down with his back to Katara, but found himself rolling over as he heard her sigh heavily.

He watched as she looked out the window, sadness obvious in her alluring blue eyes. Her delicate fingers fiddled with the tip of her long braid as she watched the wind blow through the trees outside.

"You seem very loyal to him." Zuko suddenly said aloud.

Katara jumped as the man suddenly spoke, having thought he had gone back to sleep already. "To whom?" she asked, blinking slightly in confusion.

"The Avatar." He said, frowning at her dense reaction.

"Oh. Yes, of course I am. He's the avatar, and he needs my help, so of course I'm helping him. He's this world's last hope for peace...and he's like a little brother to me." She said with a fond smile, looking back out the window. She could see her brother and Aang out there in the courtyard now. Her older brother was yelling something she couldn't hear at the young airbender as he zipped around on his air scooter, laughing merrily. She would miss the long days they spent traveling together on Appa's back, the conversations, arguments, jokes, and laughs they shared up in the wide blue sky.

When Katara looked away from the window sometime later, she saw that Zuko had fallen asleep once more, which puzzled the girl at first. As she looked at him more closely though, she saw that the young ex-prince looked very thin, as though he hadn't been eating well for the past few weeks since she'd last seen him at the north pole. Katara couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself. Zuko may be a prince and a powerful fighter, but he obviously didn't know much about wilderness survival, something she and her brother had grown up doing.

Katara found herself watching him again, as she had the other day. His face was drawn and thin with dark circles under his one good eye. She imagined the rest of him was in similar condition. Where his shirt pulled away from his neck she could see burns and scratch marks all down his back as he lay on his stomach, sleeping with one arm tucked under his pillow, the other pressed up against his side.

The waterbender's fingers itched to heal the man's numerous wounds. She wondered just how many he had, and how he'd gotten them all. She stayed her restless hands though, resisting the urge to heal the firebender in the neighboring bed. She doubted Zuko would even thank her anyways…

Katara sighed and lay back against her pillows once more; resigning herself to a boring afternoon of staring up at the ceiling till sleep over took her. It was quite some time before she fell asleep once more, but before she did she wondered who had called the nurse and the others when she'd hurt herself after throwing her pillow at Zuko? Surely not him…?

* * *

The following morning, Sokka and Aang exchanged their tearful goodbyes with Katara, amongst which they both promised to be careful and come back for her as soon as possible. In turn she promised them she would take it easy and heal as quickly as possible in their absence. She sat up in her bed and looked around out the window, waving sadly as her two best friends and remaining family took off on Appa, who leapt eagerly into the sky, clearly happy to return to the air once more. She ignored Zuko completely as she wiped away her tears as they disappeared into the clear blue sky above the mountain.

The next few days passed uneventfully as Katara did as she had promised and stayed in bed resting and willing her broken bones to mend. She and Zuko shared a few sparsely worded conversations during those days. Though they didn't say much to one another, they each found out how the other had ended up there in the mountain sanctuary. Some days Iroh even visited and regaled Katara with spectacular tales of his younger days, which she found very interesting. She was grateful he didn't tell any about the war, but apparently much more than war had gone on in his long, eventful life.

Zuko still found himself thinking strange things about Katara, such as how nice her hair looked when the sun shone on it, bringing out the different hues of brown in her chesnut hair. Katara couldn't help but admire Zuko as he slept as well, especially as the exiled prince started gaining back the weight he had lost while on the run.

Finally though their peaceful days ended as the nurse pronounced Zuko healthy enough to leave the infirmary. His relief was written all over his normally well guarded face, making Katara laugh. He had glared out her and stalked out after the nurse who had shown him to his new room.

Katara had only rolled his eyes and settled back to have a good nap now that he was gone. Only she hadn't. She'd found herself almost missing his company. Though they hadn't talked much, he had still had a sort of quiet, comforting air about him as he'd sat there while she'd always fallen asleep. Somehow it had always made it easier for her. The girl's depression didn't last long though as the next day the nurse had bustled in and decided that Katara was also well enough to leave her care and move to another, more private room. The girl had fairly leapt out of bed and danced, so glad was she to be able to get out and move around once more. She didn't though for fear of upsetting her rib, but she had been happy none-the-less.

Katara was led to her new room by grandma Eri, one of the old women who ran the place apparently. She was kind with a lively outlook on life for one as old as she. Katara found herself liking the woman more every minute. Eri explained how it was that Katara had come there with the avatar, and how she was more than welcome to stay as long as she needed, which Katara assured her would be only until Aang returned. She didn't say anything about Zuko though, and Katara found herself hesitant to ask. It's not like she _cared_ where he was or anything…

"Here we are now, dear." Eri said with a smile, opening a door and motioning for Katara to enter.

"Oh!" The young waterbender said in surprise as they suddenly came to a stop. She entered the room and smiled as she looked around.

"Oh Grandma Eri, its lovely!" she said happily as she looked around at the pale green walls with one wall covered in a mural of a bamboo forest. It was clear this wasn't just an average room for someone fleeing the fire nation; this was surely one of their guest rooms.

"I'm glad you like it dear. We don't usually have much occasion to put it to good use." The old woman said with a fond smile to the girl. "Now, is there anything you need at all?" she asked.

"Well, actually…" Katara turned to face the old woman, fiddling with the end of her braid.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if there was somewhere around here I could take a bath…" she looked up at grandma Eri hopefully. After so many days in bed she was beginning to feel a little grungy even though all she'd done was lay around and sleep.

The old woman chuckled and said "Of course there is! Just go right out that door down the hall, and head around the corner to your right. There's a wooden building there. That's our bath house." She said, pointing out of the room and too a door at the end of the hall.

A look of relief passed over Katara's face as she smiled gratefully and gathered her things so she could go take a bath right away.

"Thank you so much! If you don't mind I think I'll go take one now." Katara said, waiting for the old woman's permission.

"Yes, yes of course. You'll feel the better for it! Nothing better than a bath to make you feel good as new!" the old earthbender said cheerfully, stepping aside so Katara could get out the door.

"Thank you very much." Katara said, bowing slightly in respect to the old woman and walking quickly out the door, happy to finally be able to clean herself.

Left in the dust behind the young waterbending master, grandma Eri spoke aloud to herself, thumb and forefinger to her chin as she thought.

"I wonder if I should have told her that young man and his uncle went down there themselves just a little bit ago…oh well." The woman shrugged, cackling to herself and started off in the opposite direction.

* * *

Katara came to the door to the bath house. It was rather large, and made of what looked to be cedar wood. It gave off a faint pleasant smell that seemed to invite her in. Katara opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind her. She was in a small room with a pump and another odd contraption over a grate in the floor. Puzzled, the girl went over to the strange contraption and pumped the handle experimentally. She was delighted when water gushed out from the taller part and splashed into the grate before disappearing from sight. The girl quickly stripped off her clothes, undid her braid, and stepped under the faucet. She pumped it once more and cold water splashed down onto her, nearly making her cry out, but she managed to hold it in as her skin became accustomed to the cold water. She stopped pumping and looked around for something to wash with. She saw some soap next to a pile of towels and grabbed it. She washed thoroughly, scrubbing her skin and hair as best she could before rinsing off once more. She shook some water off and then grabbed one of the towels, replacing the soap and gathering her things. Katara was about to head out when she saw another door off to the right. Curious, she opened it, and was delighted when hot steamy air rushed out, making her skin tingle. It was a natural hot spring! Apparently the two old women had had the building built around it for privacy's sake. It was so steamy that she could hardly see at all, despite the small pinpricks of light on the walls that were undoubtedly candles.

'_This is great! A nice soak and then I'll go back to my room and rest…' _she thought to herself, for indeed after so long of doing nothing buy lay around, plus the fact she was still recovering, Katara found that she was getting tired.

The water bender quickly placed her things on a bench by the door, walking over to the spring clad only in her towel. She slipped in quietly, leaving her towel at the edge within easy reach. The water was fairly deep, up to about her navel, though she quickly submerged herself, dunking her head under the water and then coming up again with a gusty sigh. She sat at the edge of the pool of hot water, unable to see more than a few feet in front of her face as the steam rose from the water to gently caress her bare throat and face, the only parts of her showing above the hot water. Katara closed her eyes as she let her muscles relax and the water wash away her worries. She inhaled the sweet scent of steam and cedar, her mind lulled into a peaceful state as she sat there in a meditative state somewhere between sleeping and waking.

* * *

Zuko hadn't heard Katara enter the neighboring shower room to bathe, nor had he heard her enter the room that contained the hot spring, the room he was now in and had been in for the past fifteen minutes. He _had_ heard something, though, when Katara had entered the water, just a faint splash and gust of displaced air as someone entered. He had just thought it was his uncle returning from his excursion to find some tea.

Now though, he _knew_ it wasn't his uncle in the water with him. That sigh had definitely not been his uncle Iroh's. Tensing, Zuko narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to peer through the steam at who had entered. He didn't want to attack someone who had just come in here to take a bath. He doubted it was someone of the firenation here to attack him because if it were the building would have already been ablaze. Irritated that his relaxing soak had been interrupted, the young firebender swept one hand through his, short, wet hair to dislodge the water there so it wouldn't drip into his golden eyes. He made up his mind and half swam, half walked over to where he had heard the sound coming from, keeping himself at a level where the water came up to just below his rib cage.

The pool of water wasn't that large, so it didn't take Zuko long to find Katara sitting in the water, her long brown hair draped across her shoulders, those intense blue eyes closed for the time being. The former prince paled at the sight of her, every nerve jumping. A second later he felt heat rising to his face as to his embarrassment he began to flush bright red. He knew he _ought_ to turn around and give her privacy, but he found himself quite unable too. His golden eyes followed the line of her jaw, down her long, elegant neck to her shoulders. A few stray strands of hair grouped along her collar bone and disappeared into the water between her breasts…Zuko could feel himself flush even more. Why did he find himself _desiring_ her? She was just some water peasant from the South Pole! And yet, she was an extraordinarily beautiful water peasant with long chestnut hair and smooth dark skin so different from his pale skin…Alright, this was getting out of control. Zuko put his foot down mentally, not letting his fantasies go a step further.

The nineteen year old abruptly turned his back to her and coughed to get her attention, keeping his eyes carefully averted from the sleeping waterbender.

Katara's eyes flew open as someone coughed. She sat up abruptly, momentarily exposing herself before her eyes landed on the form in front of her and she plunged back in immediately until the water was up to her chin.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing!" She yelled at him, embarrassed and outraged that her former enemy would have seen her in such a prone moment. The water immediately became choppy as Katara fought down the urge to drown the man before her without further warning.

"What do you mean, what am I doing in here! What's it look like I'm doing!" He yelled right back at her, golden eyes blazing fiercely as he glared back at her. He immediately turned back around though, but not before Katara caught the faint blush that painted his normally pale face.

"…." Katara wasn't sure what to say for a moment. She could have easily countered that he was spying on her like the sick, twisted pervert she knew he was... yet that didn't seem right, not after she'd seen the way he'd blushed. And it wasn't like he'd harassed or molested her in her sleep or anything. No…he'd actually turned away and woken her. It was almost…gentlemanly of him.

Katara took a deep breath and said "I'm…sorry, for jumping to conclusions. You probably just came in here to bathe like I did." She said quietly. The waterbender watched as Zuko's muscles tensed, almost as though he'd been expecting an attack rather than an apology. His certainly was an impressive back wasn't it? It was well muscled, but not grotesquely so, more lean then that. She couldn't help but wonder what his chest looked like to. If his back were any indication she was sure it was an eye full. The girl was distracted, and gladly so, from these thoughts as her eyes focused less on the muscles and more on the skin. It was pale, she noticed, and Katara was surprised to see that it was covered in scratches and burns, all of them new looking.

Zuko blinked in surprise as she suddenly apologized. He had, as the girl had suspected, expected an attack, not an apology.

"Apology accepted…" his said in his low, rough voice. He jumped suddenly though when he felt a cool, wet hand rest against his back.

"What do you think you're doing!" he demanded, a snarl automatically coming to his voice after years of harsh conditions, though this situation might not have merited it.

"Oh be quiet, these scars look nasty." Katara said, having placed one hand that glowed with a gentle, healing light from the water she had bended around her hand on a particularly bad looking burn.

Zuko whirled around to face her, his heart began to thunder in his chest as his golden eyes met her surprised sea blue ones. He felt a bolt of electricity shoot up his spine to his brain, and the world seemed to wobble on it's axis as he looked into those bottomless blue eyes.

Katara felt the same symptoms as the ex-prince spun around to face her. The two of them were so close…why were they so close! Her skin seemed hypersensitive and able to sense every place that they were almost touching. She could feel his breath on her; it was warm and smelled a little like tea. As her eyes met his golden ones, she felt as though something in her chest were suddenly ablaze.

Great Agni, he could almost taste her she was so close. As he breathed he found she smelled of the cold, of spring rains, and even snow. They all blended together to make a heavenly, intoxicating scent. What was he going to do, kiss her?

Zuko moved a little closer, and Katara didn't move away. He leaned in and Katara found herself thinking that they must have both been in the hot water too long and lost both their minds, but somehow…she just didn't care.

At just that moment though there was a loud bang as the door to the hot spring suddenly opened. Neither of them could see who had entered, but the sound was enough to send them both leaping apart as though they'd both been electrocuted.

"Zuko? Are you still in here? I have the tea!" Called the cheerful, elderly voice of the ex-fire prince's uncle Iroh.

* * *

Man I'm evil! But come on people, where would we be if Zuko and Katara kissed so early on in the story? Nowhere, that's where! Ha ha ha! Anyhoo, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and will continue keeping an eye out for the next one!

Oh, and in case you guys hadn't guessed I'm not on spring break any more, so that's my reason for taking so long to update, sorry again! But I was also slowed down by the picture I was doing in honor of my new fic! I hop you guys liked that too! Who knows, maybe if I get loads of good reviews I'll do another one? Maybe one of Zuko and Katara in the hot springs…ho ho ho! Keep an eye out for chapter four!

The URL to the pic for those of you who didn't read my notes at the top:

H t t p / www . deviantart .com / view / 30984123 /

(just delete all the spaces I had to stick in there)

Kat A. Klysmic


	5. Confusion, Answers, Healing

**Author's note:** Sorry it took me so long on this one! As you may or may not have known, Kingdom Hearts two came out on Tuesday so I played it all weekend XD That game is just too damn much fun! Then I didn't have much time over the course of the week to work on it, so please forgive my tardiness! I think that a week between chapters will probably become the norm though, hope you guys will still keep reading though!

Anyhoo, on to chapter five!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 5: Confusion, Answers, More Confusion, and A Healing

Katara sank as low into the water as she could without bringing her head under as well. She looked around a little wildly like a cornered animal. She saw that she and Zuko had somehow ended up on opposite ends of the large hot spring. The older teen was hardly visible through the steam now, making it easier for her heart to settle. It had felt like it was about to burst forth from her chest and take flight it had been going so fast. Katara's mind was still reeling from what had just transpired, or, what had _nearly_ just transpired. She needed to get out of here, fast, before she had a chance to make as fool of herself.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard someone come up behind her. She looked around with her wide blue eyes and saw not Zuko (to her relief), but Iroh.

"Zuko, did you hear me…?" Iroh began, clearly not realizing that she wasn't Zuko until he came right up behind her.

"Oh! I beg your pardon, it is so foggy in here I'm afraid my old eyes are having a hard time of making things out. Please, excuse me." Iroh said with a small bow to her and continued walking around, calling "Zuko? Where are you?"

"I'm over here uncle." Zuko said, his voice a little raspy. The firebender was still recovering over what had happened himself, much as Katara was, though he didn't realize it.

"There you are! Is there something the matter? Your voice seems a little strange." The old man said as he sat down on the edge of the hot spring, his legs dangling in the water. He refrained from completely immersing himself as he was now clad in a bath robe, and had a tray with small cups and a tea pot on it.

"No. Nothing's the matter." Zuko said sharply. A little too sharply he realized as his uncle raised an eyebrow at him. Iroh knew something was wrong now. Zuko cursed himself mentally for his slip.

Iroh didn't say anything for the moment; instead he poured his nephew and himself some tea. He took a sip and then looked around. He could just barely make out the pretty water bender at the other side of the water, still soaking. He smiled brightly and called "Lady Katara, would you like to join us for some nice, relaxing jasmine tea?"

Katara was silent for a moment, debating on how she could exit this situation gracefully. Well, there was nothing else she could do, she would just have to decline and get out. There was no way she could sit and drink tea with Zuko and his uncle with nothing but her hair to cover herself. Especially after what had just happened.

"Oh, ah…No thank you. I'm afraid I have to be somewhere. Thank you anyway." She said, quickly making her way over to the edge of the tub where she had left her towel. She tugged it towards her and wrapped it tightly around herself, not caring that the towel got wet in the process. She fairly ran to the door, closing it sharply behind her. She got dressed in the next room in what had to be record time and then hurried out.

* * *

The old general watched as the young woman ran out. He was surprised at her reaction. She had been so nice before, not at all shy. His feeling that something had happened in his absence grew. He looked over at his nephew, raising an eyebrow at him. 

"What?" Zuko asked sharply. "Don't give me that look. Nothing happened!" He said, crossing his arms over his well muscled chest and frowning.

"Zuko… that young lady practically fled the premises as though there were a pack of rabid wolf bats after her. You can not honestly tell me that something did not happen." The old man said dryly.

"I'm telling you that nothing happened! We just bumped into one another and she was startled, that's all. Now get off my case." He growled, grabbing a towel and exiting the building nearly as quickly at the water bender before him had.

"It must have been some bump." Iroh said amusedly as he watched his nephew stomp out of the bath house.

* * *

Katara exited the building hurriedly without sparing a glance back. She made her way to the nearest exit which happened to be a tunnel that led outside the walls. It went under ground for about a minute's brisk walk, and just when Katara was beginning to worry that perhaps she had taken one of the longer tunnels, she emerged from the darkness and into bright sunlight after pushing her way past the large bush that hid the tunnel from view. 

The waterbender had to shield her eyes with one hand against the bright sunlight until they managed to adjust after the darkness of the under ground path. In her rush and haze of shock she had nearly forgotten that it was still early afternoon. For some reason she had thought it was later.

"Whatever that was back in the bath house really messed with me…" she muttered to herself as she started walking. She refused to think about that now though. She could do that later after she'd exercised off some of her pent up energy. Yes, that would make it easier to think.

Katara walked for a time, her nerves gradually settling as the warm afternoon sun shone down through the canopy of leaves that stretched out above and around her from the tall, elegant birch trees. The path beneath her feet had small bits of grass growing up in the middle of it, showing that it had not been used for quite some time. She was still able to follow it easily though. After an easy walk the young waterbender heard a familiar, welcome sound come to her ears. It was the sound of moving water and it seemed to draw her to it like metal to a magnet. It only took Katara a minute to find it just a little ways off the path. She smiled happily, eager to practice her water bending after such a long time of remaining in-active in bed.

Katara hurried excitedly over to the stream and immediately began tugging off her outer layers until she was down to her white undergarments. She folded her clothes neatly and placed them at the base of a tree next to the stream where they'd keep dry. She then proceeded to wade into the stream, taking only a moment to get used to its chill temperature. The deepest point only went up to her waist, but that was all she really needed. A small smile graced the girl's lips as she went into her stance and began to move her arms gracefully through the air, manipulating the water with her movements. Her heart began to feel calm once more as her element surrounded her, comforting her with its every move; from the way it flowed through her fingers and into the air, to the way it gently caressed her torso as it flowed past her in its unending journey to the ocean.

* * *

Meanwhile, after stomping out of the bath house, Zuko had marched in the opposite direction Katara had and proceeded through a short tunnel and out into the open mountain air. He hardly even noticed the beauty of his surroundings as Katara had. No, his mind was too occupied with what had happened. He barely saved enough attention for the faint, unused path beneath his feet. He needed to exercise off some energy before he blew up then and there, setting the entire forest ablaze in the process. 

Zuko found a clearing a little ways off the path with a stream running along its boundary's. He didn't realize that it was the same stream that Katara was bending in right at that moment, though quite some distance upstream from him. The firebender stopped at the edge of the clearing and tugged off his shirt, ruffling the growth of short black hair on his head in the process. He tossed the clothing aside and moved to the center of the clearing. He took a deep breath and then slid into a back stance, holding his position there for a moment before suddenly leaping forward, twin flames flying from his tightly clenched fists. He kicked next, releasing an arc of flame as he moved. He continued on, fighting opponents that weren't really there as he fought his way around the clearing. The man flowed smoothly and continuously through the movements, his mind fully devoted to the intense concentration it took to manipulate his firebending, lest he light something on fire by mistake. Concentrating on something besides the bothersome water peasant helped clear his head as he continued his rhythmic motions, fire bursting forth at his command, releasing his tension and aggravation.

* * *

Several hours later, Katara pulled herself from the water's cool embrace to lay on her back on the riverbank. As she looked up at the clear blue sky through the leafy canopy of the trees, she was surprised by the position of the sun. She hadn't realized how long she'd been out here practicing her bending. Though she was now thoroughly exhausted by her afternoon work out, Katara felt much better. Her mind was no longer foggy with confusion, and her heart beat was back to normal. Now was the time to review what had happened in the bath. 

She nearly blushed at the memory of how close she and the prince, no, wait, ex-prince, had been. And she didn't know about him, but _she_ hadn't been wearing a thing. And she could have sworn that he had nearly kissed her! Though she supposed she could be mistaken…but no, she was fairly sure that had been his intent from the way he had been moving in. What _else_ would he have been doing that close to her? Yet if he had been trying to kiss her, what was his reasoning? Katara was positive he wasn't in love with her. No, there would have been absolutely no chance what-so-ever of that happening; and not just because of their nationality, or even because he had been after her best friend since she had met Aang. No, she and Zuko had hardly had any contact with one another besides their few violent encounters, and that time he'd had her tied to that tree…

Katara's heart jumped at the memory, causing her to put her hand to her chest in surprise. She may not love him, nor he her, she realized, but there was some definite attraction there. She groaned aloud, displeased by the very idea of being attracted to the man who had been chasing her best friend. But they weren't enemies now though, were they? No, not really, she decided. There would be no reason for him to be after the avatar any more, not since he too was wanted by the fire nation for treason.

Katara sat up, looking off into the distance with a thoughtful look on her face. And why couldn't they at least be friends? There was nothing wrong with that now, was there? Romance was out of the question of course, but why not friendship? Surely it wouldn't hurt to have an ex-prince firebender and the dragon of the west on their side. That could also solve their trouble with finding a firebending master for Aang if they couldn't find Jong Jong. Iroh, and perhaps Zuko, _was_ a master firebender after all.

Katara nodded to herself resolutely and stood, collecting her clothing and beginning to dress as she did so. Right, so she'd initiate a friendship with Zuko, and earn his trust, and make him an ally. That would benefit Aang the most for sure. If Zuko came, then no doubt Iroh would too. Katara paused in the middle of getting dressed, sighing heavily as another thought occurred to her. Just how was she even going to be able to approach, let alone befriend, Zuko after their uncomfortable little encounter in the bath?

Okay, time to think critically then. What had initiated the whole thing? Well, besides her unwittingly getting into the same bath as him, she supposed that her main mistake had been getting close enough to Zuko to try and heal his wounds. Now that she thought back, she remembered the tone in his voice. He'd almost been angry…perhaps then the best way to approach this would be to apologize for trying to heal him without permission and just skip over the whole scene that had occurred after that and hope he wouldn't mention it either.

With that problem solved, Katara smiled to herself and finished dressing, completely ignoring the fact that she had yet to solve, or even understand, the problem she had come out here with; that being why she had reacted so strangely to Zuko in the bath. Ah well, another time perhaps. In a significantly better mood now, the waterbender walked back down the trail, feeling refreshed.

* * *

Zuko sat cross-legged at the base of a large birch tree, his hands on his knees as he meditated after finishing his exercises. The man's chest rose and fell rhythmically as he sat there, eyes closed. He let his mind drift back to earlier in the day during his bath after several hours of keeping it at the back of his mind where he could ignore it. Zuko sighed resignedly and decided now was as good a time as any to think things through. 

It had all started when he had seen her there sleeping. In retrospect, she had looked so peaceful, as though that was the first time in awhile she had been able to just lay back and relax. Well, he supposed he could relate. Surprisingly, he felt a small twinge of guilt, knowing that he had contributed to the fact that she was constantly on the move along with her brother and the avatar. Well, she didn't have to worry about that anymore; he was in the same boat as she now. The next blow had been struck when he'd felt her touch his back. Her hand had been so cool and soothing and had relieved the pain from the burn on his lower back. Now that he thought about it, he realized that unlike the rest of his un-healed wounds, that one hadn't bothered him all afternoon.

Zuko's golden eyes flew open he twisted around as best he could in his sitting position. It took some serious stretching, but he was finally able to see the spot where his scar was, or rather, where it _had_ been. He raised his one eyebrow in surprise at the smooth, new looking skin that had replaced the angry looking scar tissue. He touched the pale skin experimentally, hardly able to believe that the scar was gone. Perhaps she could do the same for the rest of his wounds? The idea certainly appealed to the man, for his fire and weapon induced wounds pained him greatly whenever he did anything more than walk or sit, and sometimes even then. He knew though that his pride would never allow him to ask her to heal him. No, he may not be a prince any more, but he was still a proud fire bender and he would never ask for help from some water peasant.

Back to the issue at hand though. Why had he found himself desiring the water peasant girl? Certainly she was attractive, beautiful even, but that didn't give him any excuse. Or did it? Now that Zuko thought about it, the same could have happened between him and any mildly attractive girl he'd come across. After all, he had been trapped on a boat full of nothing but men for the past two years while chasing after a one hundred and twelve year old boy. That in itself would have been enough to drive any straight guy right up a wall. That solved it then. It wasn't Katara herself that had attracted him; it was merely the fact that she was a woman, something he surely missed after spending so much time amongst his men.

Zuko let go a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He felt relief course through him, though somewhere at the back of his mind a tiny twinge of regret made itself known. Zuko squashed it immediately, allowing for no more thoughts of the girl to make their way into his mind. He now felt he could see her again without the same thing happening, and that gave him the confidence to pull his shirt back on, pointedly ignoring the stabs of pain in his back, and stride confidently back through the forest and into the mountain sanctuary.

* * *

Katara emerged from her room, sliding the door closed behind her. She had changed out of her wet and slightly dirty clothes into a dress that she had found lain out for her on her bed. Grandma Eri had stopped by earlier to tell her that dinner would be at sundown. Already Katara could see through a nearby window that the sun was low on the horizon. It couldn't be more than ten minutes till the dinner bell rang. The girl jumped slightly as she heard the door to the room next to hers slide open. She looked over curiously and was surprised to see Zuko step out, straightening an elegant red robe that he wore over a set of slightly darker red kimono top and pants. 

The firebender looked surprised to see her as well, framed by the fiery reds and oranges of the setting sun that shone through the round window at the end of the hall, making her normally dark brown skin look bronze. In contrast, her blue eyes fairly glowed an icy blue color that seemed to be able to see straight through him. His heart jumped as he realized that she wasn't looking through him at all, but directly at him. He pretended not to have noticed her, and instead turned to head down the hall in the opposite direction.

"Pri-…ah…Zuko, wait." Katara called, out to him. She could have sworn he had seen her, but perhaps she had been wrong. Either that or he was ignoring her. She could hardly blame him if he was though.

Zuko stopped as she called his name, the first time she really had, and it made him shiver as the word came to his ears in her melodious voice. What was wrong with him? He thought he had solved all this earlier in the clearing. He didn't really like her, she just happened to be the nearest woman at the time that was why he had been affected. Her presence shouldn't be bothering him at all! And yet…it was. Perhaps he had been wrong before, maybe he had a medical condition or something. Perhaps he should make a trip to the nurse before dinner…

"Hey Zuko, didn't you hear me?" Katara demanded, walking to catch up to him, though he had now stopped walking.

"What do you want?" He asked. Good, his voice sounded normal at least; deep, and a little on the rough side from years of shouting orders to the men under his command.

"I just, ah…wanted to apologize." She said, looking down at her dark skinned hands as they idly picked at a stray string that wasn't actually there. Why was her heart speeding up again? She thought she had decided that romance was out of the question? She was here to make friends, not jump Zuko's bones.

"Apologize?" Zuko repeated, surprised. Was she here to talk about what had happened earlier? The firebender strove to ignore how well the blue dress she wore suited her and matched her eyes. Not to mention the way the setting sun brought out the fiery tones in her normally chocolate brown hair...

"Uh yes. Earlier in the bath, I healed one of your scars without permission. You seemed angry I did, so I wanted to apologize." She said, looking up at him.

Oh, was that all? Zuko felt both relieved and even a little disappointed. "Oh, ah…apology accepted." He said, fighting to keep up his normally cool and collected appearance. He seemed to be succeeding because the girl only looked relieved that he accepted her apology. Zuko decided to go out on a limb and ask another question "Anything else?"

"Anything…else?" Katara asked, confused. Had she done something to insult him without realizing it?

The look on her face told Zuko that she wasn't even thinking about what had happened earlier. Perhaps he had been the only one to feel the…well, the lust he had felt towards her? "No, it's nothing." Zuko said, turning on heel and heading off down the hall and towards the dining room.

Katara was left there standing, feeling as though she had missed out on something. After a moment's contemplation, she followed suit, entering the dining room soon after he did.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, well, quiet for the two teenagers anyways. The laughter of the two old sisters and Zuko's uncle rang out through the night. The three seemed to have a lot in common, and wine was shared freely between them. Katara refused the strong drink though, and Zuko only had a little with his dinner. The food was simple, but good, and satisfied both Katara and Zuko's hunger. Katara had hardly realized how hungry she had been, but then again she hadn't eaten since early that morning. 

At long last Zuko stood and asked to be excused. He felt he could hardly stand another moment of the strange mix of feelings that swirled around the room. His uncomfortable silence with the water bender, and the obnoxious cheerfulness of the oldsters threatened to overwhelm him.

Iroh smiled and nodded at his nephew, knowing that the boy had never much liked formal dinners. He watched as Zuko gave him a nearly grateful look and quickly exited the room, closing the door with a quiet snap behind him. The old man looked over at Katara who had finished her dinner, but seemed determined not to be as impolite as his nephew and take an early leave. Feeling bad for the girl, the old man leaned over and whispered "You don't have to stay, go ahead and go. The ladies and I will be here awhile yet." He said with a sly smile.

Katara looked at the old general with a grateful smile. She nodded her head and said "Thank you," In a quiet voice. She stood and pushed back her chair, exiting the room quietly and sighing as the laughter died away when she closed the door behind her. The hallway she had entered seemed stuffy in the warmth of the night, and so she made her way to the nearest door, her soft soled shoes making only the quietest of whispers as she moved down the hall. She slid the door open and smiled gratefully as the slightly cooler air of the outdoors caressed her welcoming face.

Katara stepped out into the darkening night, lit only by a sliver of the waning moon, which seemed to give her dark skin an unearthly glow. She closed her eyes, welcoming the caress of the moon's pale rays as she took a deep breath of night air. She eventually opened her eyes once more and stretched her arms high up above her head, letting them drop to her sides with a gusty exhalation of breath. When the water bender looked around to find a place to sit, she was embarrassed to find Zuko already there, sitting on a bench and looking at her oddly. The girl blushed and coughed as though trying to cover up what she had been doing.

"Um, I'm sorry…I hope I'm not bothering you by being out here." Katara said. She only looked at him briefly, and then looked away again. She found it was generally easier to ignore that strange buzzing feeling she got when she was around Zuko if she didn't look directly at him.

"Ah, no, it's fine." Zuko said. She obviously hadn't realized it, but he had been watching her since she had stepped out onto the porch from where he had taken a seat on a nearby bench. The way the moonlight shone off of her smooth, dark colored skin was beautiful, he had to admit, especially for some southern water peasant. He was forced to drag is eyes away from her lest he start going all strange again. He too had discovered that it was easier to control himself if he didn't look at her. Instead he turned his gaze to the garden that stretched out before him, admiring the way the moon cast shadows amongst the spring blooms and the budding leaves of the trees. He tensed though as the water bender sat down beside him, leaning forward slightly so that her elbows were resting on her knees, and her hands in turn holding up her chin. Her long brown braid draped over her shoulder and dangled there, swaying in the slight breeze.

"It sure is nice out tonight, isn't it?" Katara breathed, a small smile on her face as she admired the moonlit garden with her bright blue eyes.

Her only reply was a grunt of affirmation from Zuko.

"It'll be the new moon in a few nights." She observed, trying to strike up a conversation.

Once again, her only reply was a grunt.

'_Okay fine then, I'll ask him a question he can't answer with a grunt.'_ She said, frustrated by the man's reluctance to speak with her. What was wrong with him?

"Zuko, where did you get those scars on your back?" she asked curiously.

"Are you always so talkative?" he snapped at her, turning his blazing golden eyes toward her, painful memories showing through.

Katara was almost touched by his pain, but his biting remark annoyed her. "Look, I was just trying to have a little friendly conversation! If you want to be alone then fine, just say so!" She said, standing with a rush of fluttering blue cloth and blazing blue eyes.

'_Damn! What do I think I'm doing? She was just curious…'_ Zuko thought as the girl stood, clearly angry with him. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to talk with her, he just wasn't used to talking to anyone but his uncle outside of giving orders to his men, let alone pretty water tribe girls.

"The firenation." He said, hoping to keep her from leaving him alone on the porch under the moonlit sky.

Katara paused and turned slightly, looking over her shoulder at him.

"The Firenation? You mean your own people did that to you?" She asked, her brow furrowed at the thought.

"Yes, though, they are no longer my people." He said, his low voice held a bitter ring to it as he unconsciously ran one of his hands over his head as though unused to the feel of the short black hair that had grown there.

Katara moved over and sat beside him once again. She didn't reach out to him, for she knew he would only recoil if she reached out to him now. Instead she sat there, ready to listen to his story.

"So, they attacked you?" she asked quietly, sitting with her hands folded neatly in her lap, looking at him with icy blue eyes that held no pity for the prince, only concern. She found herself able to look at him without feeling funny anymore, perhaps it was the nearly motherly concern she felt for him right now that was over riding it. No, perhaps motherly was the wrong word for it. She hardly new this boy, this man, and yet she couldn't help but want to reach out to him, to comfort him in his pain. Here was someone who had truly had a hard life amongst his own people. Her mother had died, and her father was still at war, and yet she knew that her life was much better than Zuko's. While she had her tribe, Aang, and her brother to look to in times of need, Zuko had only his uncle.

"Yes. My own damn sister is after me. She and her men have been on our trail since a week after we left the North Pole." He said, golden eyes blazing angrily. He hated his accursed sister; she had always been the favored one; the one born lucky, while he was just lucky to have been born. He saw the horrified look on Katara's face, but continued anyways, knowing he might not get another chance to talk to someone like this. Sure he had his uncle, but he didn't count. His uncle was _supposed_ to listen to him. But then again, so was his father.

"We were ambushed several times, but every time we were able to escape before being captured." He recalled, averting his eyes from the face of his pretty companion.

"Other times we were simply chased like foxes by a pack of hunting hounds, my sister always at their head, ready to strike my Uncle and I down without a second thought. From all those battles, fighting against entire squads of men, that is how I received these wounds." He said, his anger gradually fading as he ceased recounting his tale. The rage within him was quelled by the beauty of his surroundings, and by the kind look given him by the water bender. That was the greatest thing that she could have given him. Not pity, or even apologies she had no reason to give; no, she just sat there, ready to listen to him, offering him no blows, just a kind, understanding smile.

"That's awful…I can't even imagine…" she began, but let her sentence drift off unfinished in the night air. She knew she could never begin to understand what he had gone through, so she didn't try.

"But I'm…I'm glad…"

"You're glad what?" He asked pointedly, still not looking at her.

"That you ended up okay." She finished quietly. She looked down at her hands, not sure what to do with them in such an uncomfortable moment.

Now Zuko did look at her, shocked. She was glad he was okay? He could probably count on one hand the number of people that were glad he was okay. He was about to say something, though he wasn't sure what, but she spoke first.

"Can I see them? Your wounds I mean. Perhaps I can help. My bending gives me the ability to heal." She explained a little shyly, pulling out the water flask she kept with her at all times.

Zuko looked at her for a moment; there was a look in his golden eyes that Katara didn't quite comprehend. The firebender was wrapped up in an internal struggle waged between his logic and his pride. He knew that he should take her offer, if only because it would save him a lot of pain in the years to come. He knew than all of his wounds could prove to be a major sap on his abilities and strength if they continued causing him as much pain as they did now. But on the other hand, letting some water peasant tend to his physical pains seemed low somehow; like he was allowing her to be presumptuous or something. If he let her she might begin to think herself his equal. But, countered his logic, wasn't she? He was no prince, not anymore.

Logic won out in the end, the first time in a _long_ time.

Zuko nodded at long last and Katara smile in relief. She hated seeing people in pain, and though the man hid it well, she could see that he was in great pain nearly every time he moved.

The prince stood and took off his shirt as the majority of his wounds were on his torso. He averted his eyes and looked off into the garden. His heart was beginning to speed up again. Standing here shirtless before the beautiful young woman reminded him too much of the events just that morning. Had it really been just this morning? And when had he started to think of her as beautiful?

Katara stood and took no notice of how uncomfortable the prince seemed, for right now she was too busy looking at the ugly wounds that marred his body. She quickly un-corked her flask and formed a healing glove of water over her hand, starting on his back first. The waterbender devoted her attention to getting rid of the angry looking burned flesh. As she pulled back to look at her work, she nodded appreciatively, knowing the ex-prince wouldn't be able to see her admiring look. She had been right; beneath all the burns was a well muscled back that was very tense at the moment. She didn't pay any attention to that either though.

Zuko remained tense as the woman behind him ran her cool, healing hand along his back, wiping away several weeks' worth of battle wounds, taking only a moment to do each one. He started to relax as she pulled back, but tensed again as she only moved around to his front side. His heart was beating so hard that he was surprised that she couldn't hear it.

Katara looked up in surprise as Zuko flinched at her touch, concern showing through her bright blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine." Zuko replied, looking away from her earnest blue eyes and out to the night sky, determined to ignore her until she finished.

"Alright…I'm almost done anyways." She said, bending herself another healing glove and setting to work on his chest. She rested her hand on his shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing out, focusing her attention on her healing instead of the attractive young man's face. She traced her hand gently down from his shoulder, across his collar bone, down his pectoral muscles, and to his ribcage as she followed a long slash mark that looked like it had been born of a sword rather than fire like the rest of Zuko's wounds. She didn't notice the man shiver slightly at her touch; she was too busy repairing his last few small wounds.

At long last, Katara pulled away and smiled at Zuko, she was about to say something, but was suddenly struck by the image presented to her as the powerful ex-prince stared off into the night. The moon shone off his now un-marred pale flesh, casting dramatic shadows across his profile, making him…well…handsome. Katara felt heat rush to her face and brought them up to cover her cheeks, horrified. Was she _blushing_! Just because Zuko was standing there shirtless…in the moonlight…looking drop dead gorgeous with his newly healed body… Katara whirled around immediately and headed for the door, pausing as she opened it quickly to hastily say "Ah, you should be fine now. It was nice talking to you."

Zuko looked around in surprise and said "What? Oh…thank you, Katara." He was alarmed that she seemed so eager to get away from him, had he perhaps ignored her a bit too much?

Hearing that voice say her name made Katara shiver, though Zuko couldn't see her reaction as she was in the shadow of the porch roof when she spoke again. "It was no problem. I um, I need to get to bed. Doing so much healing tired me out." Well, it wasn't a complete lie; she really was tired after healing so many wounds. Without waiting a reply, Katara entered the door and snapped it shut behind her, rushing back to her room without stopping to say anything to Eri and Emi who had been eavesdropping through the door.

Zuko nearly reached out to stop Katara from leaving, but held himself back and watched her go, whispering "Goodnight…" as she fled.

Something in him told Zuko to go after her, but he ignored it, grabbing his shirt and donning it once more and flopping down on the bench to wait for his heart to calm down before he went back to his room for the night. Would he never be able to see her without feeling as though he were about to have a heart attack? Perhaps he should reconsider that trip back to the nurse after all...

* * *

Ho ho ho, hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! Once again, I apologize for it taking me so long, but this was a really long chapter! 12 pages MS Word! Is it too long you think? Let me know in your reviews please! Some interesting, highly entertaining things happen next chapter, so stay tuned! 

Kat A. Klysmic


	6. Escape

Authors note: Hey guys! Not much to say here, but I did do another picture for you guys! Check it out here:

http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 31510378/

(once again, just remove the spaces) I think Katara came out much better in this one, don't you? Sorry it's not color, but I think the intense shading and back ground makes up for it!

Anyhoo, on to chapter 6!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 6: Escape

The week passed peacefully for Katara as the days developed a routine that she followed starting each morning. She would wake up early to take a bath before anyone else could. She never spent long in there though for fear of someone bursting on her again, namely Zuko. After that she would go to the kitchen and eat some breakfast. The people who stayed at the sanctuary didn't seem to have a set breakfast time, so no one bothered to try and get everyone together like they did for dinner. Most of the time she would end up in the company of Emi, Eri, or the both of them for the next few hours, spending their time talking. Katara enjoyed their long talks together. The two old women were a fountain of information and hilarious anecdotes. In turn, the waterbender would regale her two old friends with her own tails of traveling with the avatar. The sisters enjoyed her stories, as much as Katara did there's. It made the water bending master happy to know that she could repay them in part for their kindness with stories for all the kindness they had shown she and her friends.

Every day around noon Katara would then slip out onto the room through the window of one of the empty rooms on the second floor. She would settle herself there on the sun warmed tile and watch as Zuko practiced his firebending. She never made a move to join him for she knew that at high noon she would be at a severe disadvantage against him and she certainly didn't want to be made a fool of. So she would simply sit back and watch the prince move gracefully around the clearing, bright gouts of flame bursting forth regularly as he practiced. Katara couldn't help but admire him, and not just his attractively well muscled body, but the way he moved as well. It was like watching a powerful, graceful, deadly predator as it silently stalked its prey. Every muscle rippled with unleashed power as it, he, moved through each step of his fiery dance. Katara was fairly sure that Zuko saw her watching him practice, but he never said anything.

* * *

Zuko didn't see much of Katara during the day, something he had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, he was able to think clearly, but on the other he found that he could actually tolerate her presence, unlike so many others he had met in the past. After years of spending time only with his uncle, Katara was almost a welcome distraction for the man; he refused to dwell on it any more than that though.

Every morning Zuko would wake up at dawn and go for a walk for some exercise. Some mornings he could be seen walking along the top of the walls that surrounded the compound, others he wandered the forest surrounding it. When he came back it was usually late in the morning so he would go in search of food. He normally found his uncle in the kitchen or on one of the porches drinking tea. He would eat breakfast with Iroh and then find something that needed doing, or something that didn't, until the sun reached it's zenith in the sky. Zuko didn't notice the first day, but it wasn't long before he spotted Katara watching him from one of the roof tops. He found that he wasn't angry with her spying on him, in fact he usually showed off a bit just to prove how good he really was. His bursts of flame would be hotter and brighter, more impressive as he practiced, knowing that her eyes followed his every move. He found that for whatever reason knowing she watched him always made him strive to do better every day. He wouldn't even pay attention to the frightened looks he received from the other people staying there. The refugees were few and far between though; or perhaps they just didn't like being noticed by him while he stayed there. He understood though, that as a firebender, to them he represented that which they feared, the Firenation. However, he was hardly about to stop and explain his situation to a bunch of strangers he didn't give a lick about.

After Zuko's practice, the pair would spend their afternoon doing different small tasks at their whim until the bell rang for dinner. Their evening meals were no longer a tense, drawn out affair like it had been that first night, though it was still far from comfortable. After eating the pair would excuse themselves from the presence of their elders, and somehow, they would both end up on that same porch, sitting on that same bench as the night that Katara had healed Zuko.

* * *

Tonight, Zuko reached the bench first and sat down with a yawn he had been holding in all through dinner. He rolled his shoulders to relax his tense muscles and then settled back against the wall that the bench was pressed up against. He let the cool rain laden air drift over him as he closed his eyes. The firebender's ears filled with the gentle pattering of the light rain that fell from a grey and cloudy sky as it collided with the earth and buildings around him. He inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of wet earth and budding flowers. Thunder rolled as another scent infiltrated his senses as he sat there with his eyes closed. With the arrival of the new scent came a creak and a shift in the bench beneath him, signaling that someone else had sat down beside him. The scent was a familiar one that made his spine tingle as he remembered just last week in the bath house. It was a scent that mixed with the rain, but was distinguished by the hint of cold to it, like the fresh snow that dusted the tops of the highest mountain peaks that loomed above them.

"It's nice out tonight…" Katara started, leaning back on her hands and staring out at the rain that fell from the grey sky above.

"What are you talking about? It's _raining_." Zuko said sourly, opening his eyes and glaring out at the offending precipitation.

"Yes, but it will settle the dirt that's been in the air and cool things down." The waterbender countered.

Zuko only grunted, but he had to agree. The temperature had been increasing the past day or so, making it uncomfortably warm when one spent too much time out in the sun. The rain brought with it a welcome drop in temperature, saturating the once dry air with moisture that rejuvenated the earth.

Katara sat back, relaxed and more that happy to just watch the rain fall. The grey light painted the landscape in gentle hues of grey and blue as though muffling the color of their surroundings. The female waterbender idly swung one leg back and forth, the scuffing of her shoe on the wooden floor the only sound outside the quiet pattering of falling rain that passed between the pair of benders.

Time passed, though neither said a thing to the other. Zuko was lost deep in thought, and Katara was letting her mind wander, absentmindedly bending a small stream of water that wove lazily around the fingers of her right hand. Zuko's attention was soon drawn to it as he thought, golden eyes following the small stream of water.

Katara snapped back to reality as she felt Zuko shift in his place on the bench. He was looking at her and appeared as though he were about to say something. She watched him with her cool blue eyes, waiting for him to speak, ceasing her bending as she did so.

The man sat up straighter and cleared his throat as he prepared to speak. "Katara, I was wondering…"

He was interrupted though by the noisy pounding of feet against the wooden flooring of the sanctuary building, and by a slam as the door beside them was flung open with desperate urgency. Iroh and Emi emerged from behind the wood panel door, breathing hard as Zuko and Katara jumped to their feet.

"Uncle! What is it?" Zuko demanded, brow furrowed in concern, wondering what could make his normally easy going uncle react in such a fashion.

"What's going on?" Katara asked urgently, moving towards the pair, worry showing in her attractive face.

"Fire Nation!" Iroh managed after finally getting his breath back. "Eri saw them down in the village, we need to get out of here before they find us Zuko."

"Katara, you too. As the Avatar's companion you could be used as bait to draw Aang here, we need to get you out as well." Emi said urgently. The old woman thrust a pair of packs at them and said "You must move quickly! We can hide Iroh here, but the both of you must take the southern tunnel out of here and head up the mountain. Each night come down the mountains a way and if there is danger, then we will light a red lantern on the patio. If it is all clear, we will put out a green one, only then can you return." Emi explained. "Now quickly! Go!" she said, shooing them with her hands while looking anxiously across the courtyard as though expecting the firenation at any moment.

"But Uncle…" Zuko began to protest even as Katara donned the pack thrust at her.

"Just go Zuko! I will be fine here, but you must remain safe no matter what. Now go." Iroh said, clapping his hand on his nephews shoulder.

Zuko looked worriedly at his uncle for a moment, and then over at Emi, and then to Katara. Finally he nodded and swiftly donned his pack. The pair of young benders nodded to one another and then started off into the stormy night, soon disappearing from sight.

* * *

Iroh watched his nephew go, and as the boy disappeared from sight, the old man smiled. Emi laughed, and was soon joined by her sister who came out of the door just behind the pair of them. Iroh soon joined in the laughing, though not too loudly lest he draw the attention of his fleeing nephew.

Eri wiped tears of mirth from her wrinkled old face, still chuckling. "Iroh! I knew my sister was an accomplished actress, but I had no idea you were too!" She exclaimed.

Iroh smiled over at the two sisters and said "Years of practice ladies, years of practice." Iroh chortled.

"Well, if that doesn't get them together, or at least start too, I don't know what will!" Emi said, placing her hands on her hips and smiling out at the rain.

'_I can only hope'_ Iroh thought to himself. He knew that his nephew needed someone his own age to be with, and if that someone happened to be female, well, all the better! Zuko had always been such a recluse since being banished by his father, and even before that. The old man had seen the way Zuko sometimes looked at the young water bender girl, and hoped that the teen's infatuation with each other would blossom into something more for both their sakes.

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry this is such a short chapter, but I was busy this week and didn't get much time to work on it. I would have added more but I thought this would be a good place to stop or else I'd get carried away and add more. You guys would have liked that I'm sure, but it would have taken longer too...but whatever, what you see is what you get! XD

anyhoo, just in case you didn't see it the first time, here it is again. I did another picture for you guys! Just remove the spaces to get the url!

http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 31510378/

well, until next time,

Kat A. Klysmic


	7. Don't walk up dry streams

Authors Note: My MS Word is being super crazy this week! slaps Microsoft silly for being so crappy

Well I just barely managed to scrape out a picture for you guys at the last second. it's not as nice as some of the others, but i still like the drawing itself even if I didn't put much time ito the painting part. Here's the link:

http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 32185605/

Just remove the spaces as usual and tell me what you think!

Anyhoo, on to chapter 7!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 7: Don't walk up dry streams

Katara held one hand in the air above her, bending the worst of the rain water away from her as she ran through the stormy night, Zuko just behind her. The occasional drop still hit her though as she could only divert half of her attention to her bending lest she trip over a stray root in the quickly darkening forest.

After emerging from one of the longer tunnels that led up the mountain just under its surface, Zuko and Katara had been met by an increased downpour from the sky above them. The rain was accompanied by regular cracks of lightning and angry rolls of thunder that echoed through the darkening night. The bright flashes of split-second light cast strange, disorienting shadows across the path, causing both benders to stumble often.

It wasn't long before Katara was breathing heavily, though Zuko appeared to have just hit his stride in their journey up the mountain. Weeks of running had increased his endurance for long runs; where-as apparently Katara had grown to use to flying on Appa. Not that she wasn't fit; she simply didn't have the same endurance for running that her companion seemed to have developed.

His companion's weariness did not elude Zuko as they hiked further up the mountain, the sanctuary disappearing from view. He didn't say anything though and simply kept moving, keeping his bright golden eyes open for a place to stay. Several minutes later they reached a clearing with a large pine in its center. It was a tall, ancient looking tree with a trunk that went up at least six feet before any branches sprouted forth from it. The first row of wide, flat branches drooped down to within a few feet of the ground, making the firebender think it'd be a perfect shelter for the time being. Zuko paused at the edge of the clearing, looking back down the path at Katara who was doing her best to keep up with him. She was at his side within a few moments, breathing hard as he pointed out the tree.

"We'll stay here for tonight. It will probably be the best we can find for now." Zuko told her, raising his voice so she could hear him above the thunder.

Katara looked at the tree and nodded in agreement. No doubt it was fairly dry under there as well. "Alright, let's get out of this rain then!" She shouted back.

Together the pair ran hurriedly across the clearing and quickly ducked under the tree's prickly branches. Both benders flopped unceremoniously to the ground, exhausted from their run through the stormy forest.

After getting her breathing a little more under control, Katara sat up and wriggled out of the straps of her pack and looked around. It was completely dark, but she knew she wasn't alone, she could hear Zuko breathing somewhere close by. She reached out to see exactly where he was and felt her hand connect with something, she snatched it back though as Zuko swore loudly.

"That was my eye you peasant! Watch it!" the firebender said angrily. He sat up as well, rubbing his assaulted eye.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Katara said. "I can't see a thing in here…"

Zuko rolled his eyes and suddenly a small flame appeared in his hand, lighting the area with a warm glow. With the new light, Katara could see that her companion was soaking wet where she was only a little damp.

Katara suddenly had a thought though and said "Wait! Put that out!"

"What? Why!" Zuko demanded. He'd thought he had been doing her a favor and now she was demanding he put out the light? He didn't have much of a chance to think about it though as the woman bended water in from the outside rain and put out his fire.

"What the hell is your problem!" He demanded.

"We're in a pine tree! Do you want the whole thing to go up like a torch? This entire tree is probably covered in flammable sap!" She explained.

Zuko didn't reply, because doing so would force him to admit he hadn't thought of that. So instead he merely grunted and leaned back against the trunk of the tree. He shivered slightly as his damp clothes clung to his body. He found himself envying his companion's ability to have kept herself at least relatively dry during the storm. He thought of warming himself enough so that the water turned into steam and dry himself that way, but it seemed like too much work, and he felt the weight of exhaustion pressing in against him.

Katara could hear him shiver by the change in his breathing as the pair sat in silence there under the branches of the ancient pine. The waterbender brushed her hands off briskly and moved in closer to where she had last seen him when he had lit up their small refuge with his fire. She reached out to Zuko and her fingers met with the rough fabric of his clothes as she began to trail her fingers down the length of his arm, the water falling away from them as she did.

Zuko tensed as he felt her feather light touch along his arm. "What are doing?" he asked her challengingly, though not so much as usual. He was too tired to put up much of a fight at the moment. Surely she was too.

"I'm drying you off, now hold still." She replied calmly, not letting his tone bother her.

"I can do it myself." He growled protestingly.

"No you can't. You're cold and tired and in no condition to fire bend." She retorted. "Now be quiet and let me work. This is hard when I can't see and if I can't concentrate I might mess up."

Zuko was silent for a moment, considering what it might mean if she were to 'mess up'. He decided he didn't really want to find out, and so let her continue her work. The firebender found himself being lulled to sleep by her gentle touch and the warmth returning to his body as the water left his clothing.

Katara smiled to herself as she finished off her work, knowing that Zuko had drifted off to sleep some time ago; the slow rise and fall of his chest told her that much. She brushed one hand along the crown of his head to get rid of the water still in his short crop of black hair and then shook out her stiff hands. She didn't know how long she had been working, but the rain had slacked off to a light drizzle that she barely perceived through the fuzzy state of her mind.

The girl yawned and scooted away from her companion in order to give him space. She curled up on the ground in a bed of pine needles, her head resting on her pack, and quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sometime during the night Zuko woke up. At first he was alarmed, unable to remember where he was, but a moment later he recalled their situation and relaxed. He lay there and allowed his golden eyes to adjust to the darkness of his surroundings, his ears picking up on the quiet pattering of rain as it hit the ground outside their tree refuge. His attention was drawn to what had woken him up though as the sounds of a quiet rustling reached his ears over the pitter-pattering of the rain. His eyes now adjusted to the dark, the man could see that his younger companion was shivering, her arms wrapped tightly around her torso, and her knees brought up to her chest. 

'_Coming from the South Pole you'd think she'd have a higher tolerance to the cold…_' the ex-prince thought wryly to himself. He was about to turn over and go back to sleep, but found himself un-able to do so. He cursed the conscience that he have been developing lately and rolled back over. He examined Katara's narrow, blue clad back for awhile, watching as it was racked with small convulsions as a result of the wet, chill air. At long last he sighed and sat up, running one calloused hand through his short black hair as he did so. Zuko crawled over to where the waterbender lay curled up, looking rather pitiful if he did say so himself. He looked down at her, frowning. He could just make out her face in the dark blanket of night; the two strands of hair that normally hung down in her face were tucked behind her ears, her brow slightly furrowed and the corners of her lips turned down in a small frown.

Zuko finally gave into his conscience and lay down next to her. He supposed that in return for drying him off when he had been un-able to do so himself, Katara deserved to have him keep her warm at least through the night. He would probably wake up before her anyways and be able to move away before she any the wiser.

The firebender's heart sped up as he lay down next to her, facing towards her back. She would probably fit so well against his body… she was curled up there, looking defenseless and alone... Zuko had to fight the urge to reach out and wrap his arms around her, pulling her close against him. As it was he tried to slow his breathing and heart rate, but it didn't help much as it only resulted in him taking in deep, heady breaths of her personal perfume. Tempted, Zuko moved in a little closer till he was only a few inches way from her. His hand found itself brushing up against her braid. He was sorely tempted to release her hair from its bindings and run his fingers through it. He knew she would most likely look even prettier with it loose. Once again though, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, this time he counted to ten before he opened his eyes again.

It took awhile, but Zuko eventually drifted off to sleep, having been too captivated by just watching Katara sleep to fall asleep sooner himself. As the waterbender had eventually warmed up thanks to his body heat, her frown had faded and become a small, secret smile that made him too, want to smile. It was probably the most peaceful night's sleep he'd had in years, there with his one time enemy beneath the boughs of an ancient pine.

* * *

As it happened, Zuko _wasn't_ the first person to wake up the next morning. Katara lay there, seemingly frozen to the ground amongst the pine tree roots much like the ice she so often manipulated in her bending. She was lying face to face with Zuko, though he was still asleep, his head pillowed on one arm, emanating a gentle warmth that surprised Katara. What surprised her even more though was his close proximity to her. She could smell the smoky scent that always seemed to be around his person because of his bending. His breath came in warm, slow gusts as he inhaled and exhaled rhythmically in his deep sleep. Katara rolled away from him quickly, stopping only when she was several feet away. 

The female waterbender allowed her gaze to drift over her sleeping companion. He looked so peaceful, sweet even, with that scar of his hidden by his arm. The corner of his lips was turned up slightly, making Katara wonder what it was he was dreaming about to make him smile so. She had never seen the fire prince smile in such a fashion. But then again, she hardly knew him either. Katara sighed and ran one hand through her messy hair, picking out stray twigs and pine needles. She soon gave up and simply undid her hair, combing her fingers through it and re-braiding it with deft hands that belayed many years of practice.

Not quite feeling hungry yet, and feeling more than a little restless, Katara gathered up her water flask and ducked out from under their pine tree's low hanging branches, and out into the cool morning air. She took a deep breath to settle her nerves and looked around the clearing. It was small and surrounded by both birch and pine trees, though none so large as the one under which they had camped for the night. In the distance she thought she could hear a stream or river. She thought of going to find it, but decided against it, not wanting to leave without telling Zuko where she was going. Not that she thought he would get overly worried like Aang or Sokka would, but she hoped he would at least wonder where she had gone. So for the time being Katara decided to practice her bending to work off some extra energy.

After stretching, Katara strapped on her flask and un-corked it and drew out a long stream of water, using all of her flasks contents. She started out slow, bending the water around her and then sending it out in long streams. She practiced going through her element's different states, from solid, to liquid, to gas in rapid succession. Her pace picked up as she went through more and more complex steps, each movement flowing smoothly from one to the other. In her mind she envisioned the stead pace of a river, how it was always on the move, never stopping. She smiled slightly as she practiced, finding a certain joy in her bending that she could find nowhere else.

* * *

Zuko woke gradually from his sleep, emerging reluctantly bit by bit from his peaceful sleep. He thought he'd had a dream, though he found he couldn't remember what it had been about, as is often the case with dreams. All he really remembered is that it had been a good dream, something he hadn't experienced in quite some time. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself lying on his side, his head pillowed on his arm. He sat up quickly and found that he was alone and cursed mentally. So much for being the first up. He only hoped that either he or Katara had rolled away from one another during the night to save him the embarrassment of having her discover him so close. As he looked out from under the cover of the pine tree's branches, he saw that it was well past dawn, which alarmed him. Normally he woke at dawn with the rising of the sun out of habit. What had driven him to wake up so much later than normal? Surely he hadn't been that tired? 

Zuko was drawn away from these thoughts by the sounds of someone moving around outside, and the quiet rippling of moving water. The firebender ducked out from under the pine shelter and was met with the sight of Katara practicing her water bending. Zuko decided to wait there patiently as she practiced, knowing how much he hated to be interrupted when he was practicing. As he watched, the nineteen year old admired the fluidity of her movements, so different from those of a firebenders. Fire bending normally resulted in sudden, violent bursts of fire and movements with a short life that faded soon after they appeared. The result was that the fighting was immensely powerful, but not as aesthetically pleasing. Water bending though combined both power and grace, making it both beautiful and dangerous.

The firebender watched his companion move with the same sinuously elegant movement that the water she was bending did. Each step was well placed with deliberate strength, and her arms flowed with the movement of the water. Each move started from the arm and went all the way down to her fingertips, her element following her every command. Her long auburn hair was freshly braided and not a hair was out of place as it swung gently along behind her, stirring with every step she took, every motion she made with her hands, and every swing of her hips…Zuko put one hand to his face and rubbed his eyes to force them to look away. He drew his hand down his face, taking a deep breath and counting to ten once more. The trick seemed to be working much better for him lately.

When he looked up again though, he nearly lost his regained cool as his eyes met a pair of cheerful bright blue ones.

"Good morning." Katara said in her pleasant voice, deciding at the last second not to mention the rather questionable situation under which she had awoken with him.

"Ah…'Morning." Zuko said, absently rubbing the back of his head and looking away.

"Would you like some breakfast? I think Emi and Eri packed us something to eat for while we're up here." She said with a smile.

"Sure." Zuko said after a moment's pause. When he looked back she was gone, disappearing under the branches of their tree only to return a moment later with one of their packs.

"Could you start a fire while I get things ready?" She asked as she rummaged through the pack for their food, already falling into her normal morning routine she kept to when traveling with Aang and Sokka. She was always in charge of cooking as both boys were helpless when it came to the culinary arts.

Zuko was about to protest, his princely side wanting to kick in and say she should just do it herself, but his refugee side booted his princely side right back out again and took over.

"Alright, since you're making breakfast." The man said with a shrug and began collecting fuel for a small fire to cook over. He didn't want too large of a fire lest the smoke draw the attention of unfriendly eyes.

The pair worked in silence, thought not an entirely uncomfortable one. Katara still wanted to know how Zuko had ended up so close to her during the night, and Zuko wanted to know if he _had_ been close to her when Katara had woken up that morning. Both stubbornly refused to bring the subject to light though, and so they continued going about their chores in the warm morning air.

As Zuko began setting up the wood for their fire, he looked up at the clear blue sky, wondering what had happened to the storm they had been forced to run willy-nilly through last night. In the long run though he figured it was for the best that it had been raining last night. The rain would cover any tracks they had left during the night and throw off any potential pursuers.

The firebender looked back at the neat tee-pee of wood he had been made and stuck some dry grass and leaves in its center to make it catch fire more easily with less help from him. Zuko concentrated and a small flame flickered to life at the tip of his finger. He pressed it lightly to the kindling, increasing its size to help the fire catch quickly. He snatched his hand back hurriedly as the wood caught fire. It let off a smoldering sound and the fire lowered for a moment, showing that the wood was still slightly damp. The prince frowned, but the fire soon took a better hold of the wood and they soon had a small, warm fire for cooking over. Zuko sat back on his heels, rather pleased with himself. Even during his travels with his uncle, they had never really made many camp fires for fear of being discovered. It made him happy that he still remembered how.

Katara watched out of the corner of her eyes as Zuko worked on the fire. She almost giggled at the pleased expression on his face as he sat back and admired his handiwork. She mastered her feelings though and moved over to the fire and sat on the opposite side of the fire from the ex-prince.

"Thank you, this should be perfect for cooking over." She said with a slight smile to her pale skinned companion, her blue eyes holding a certain merry light in them.

Zuko nearly blushed as she smiled at him, but cleared his throat and simply said "You're…welcome." He sat down and crossed his legs, watching Katara stab a sturdy looking stick on either side of the fire, making sure the side with the V was sticking up. Zuko tilted his head slightly to the side, mildly puzzled by her actions. They soon made sense though as she produced a small pot with a wire handle and hung it from a third stick that spanned the other two sticks. She then filled the pot with water from a second canteen beside the one she kept at her hip and sat back, waiting for the water to boil, or so he assumed.

While she waited for the water, Katara rummaged through her pack and produced a smallish canvas bag. When she opened it and peeked inside, she was pleased to find that it was full of oats for making oatmeal. She set the bag down by her side and went back to rummaging through the bag. She also managed to find a small container of sugar. Katara sat back and studied it for a moment. Not necessarily the sugar itself, so much as the fact that it was even there. If Emi and Eri had been in such a hurry to get them out, how had they managed to make such a well prepared bag for the both of them? Well…Katara supposed that they probably had packs such as theirs ready at all times for refugees to take and flee, much as they had. Yes, that had to be it. It's not like they two sisters would lie just to get her and Zuko out of there. What would the point of that be?

"What's wrong?" Zuko asked; his one eyebrow raised as he watched Katara have a staring contest with the sugar.

"What? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking is all." Katara replied. The waterbender set about pouring some of the oats from the bag into the pot of now boiling water and stirred it occasionally with a spoon as their breakfast cooked.

Zuko continued to watch her, leaning down so that his chin rested on his hand, elbow on his knee. He wondered what it was she was making, he'd never seen the like before. His golden eyes followed her every move as she wrapped one hand in the edge of her skirt and removed the pot from the fire and placed it on a rock to cool as she fished two bowls and spoons from their packs. She spooned some of the hot cereal into each of their bowls and added some sugar and mixed it in. She suddenly paused and looked up asking "Oh I'm sorry, I don't know if you want sugar or not. Habit from traveling with my brother and Aang." She said, a little embarrassed.

"Ah no, sugar's fine." Zuko said; taking the bowl she handed to him across the fire. His rough hand brushed hers as he took the bowl and he could have sworn he saw her face heat up just a bit, but it could have just been the light of the fire.

As Katara dug into her food, Zuko examined his. It smelled nice, though it looked a little odd. A silent growl from his stomach made up his mind though, and so Zuko took up his spoon and began to eat. It was actually very good, he hadn't realized that the water peasant was such a competant cook, much better than himself or his uncle. It didn't take him long to clean his bowl of the remaining hot cereal. He even went so far as to get a second serving from the pot and add some sugar to it.

Katara smiled to herself as she watched Zuko eat her food with gusto. Either he was so hungry he didn't care, or he really did like her food. Maybe if she was lucky it was the second. The dark skinned young woman only had one serving and sat watching the fire while her companion finished eating his food.

Fire, it was obvious that was what had damaged Zuko's face so badly. And yet how had he gotten it? It looked fairly old, but Katara had a feeling she could heal it. She wondered if it would be too presumptuous of her to offer to heal his scar. Her icy blue eyes moved from the fire to Zuko himself, resting on his burn mark that spread across the left side of his face. It looked so painful to Katara, and she itched to heal it.

As Zuko looked up after finishing his meal, he tensed as he found Katara staring at him, his scar more specifically.

"What?" he asked, his voice a low growl now as he spoke to her.

Katara jumped slightly as she realized she'd been caught staring. She coughed a little embarrassedly and looked away. A moment later though she suddenly stood up and walked around the fire, sitting herself down on Zuko's left side, looking up at him with a earnest, worried expression on her pretty face.

"Zuko, your scar looks so painful. Will you let me heal it like I did with the rest of you?" She asked quietly as she gazed at him.

Zuko looked right back down at her and said "No."

"But why not?" Katara asked in surprise. "If I were to heal it, you could look completely normal again!" the waterbender was puzzled as to why he would turn down her services.

"I said NO!" The firebender was nearly shouting now. His eyes glowed fiercely, anger showing through as he glared at the girl beside him.

Katara was taken aback. She hadn't seen him actually get _angry_ at her since the North Pole when she'd been fighting him, trying to protect Aang. She decided to change tactics.

"How did you get your scar?" she asked.

"It's none of your business." He growled; good mood quickly disappearing.

"As a healer it _is_ my business! Why don't you want it to be healed?" She demanded, facing him with her hands on her hips, sitting on her knees.

"No, it _isn't_ your business! Are you always so damn nosy you stupid water peasant!" He shouted, standing angrily.

"Water peasant! Why you arrogant, self absorbed jerk! I was just trying to help!" She shouted right back, jumping up to her own feet and glaring angrily at him.

"Then next time, don't help!" he yelled.

"Oh fine then! Next time I won't save you from a life time of pain!"

"Fine! Just keep your nose out of other peoples business, the world would probably be all the better for it." He growled fiercely.

"Ugh!" she screamed, finally losing her patience. She uncorked her flask and shot a water whip out at him, though he managed to dodge it. "I go out of my way to help you and this is the thanks I get! You yelling at me and calling me a water peasant?" she demanded, lashing out again.

"I never asked you to heal me you damn goody two shoes!" he replied, firing off a spurt of flame which she blocked with a wall of water.

"How dare you! I hate you! I don't know how I ever thought we could be friends!" she screamed.

"Friends! Who'd want to be friends with you? I'm a prince of the firenation, I don't need any pathetic water splashing _friends_!" he spat.

Katara laughed spitefully at him "Prince! You're no prince! You don't even have a home anymore!"

Both of them were breathing heavily, more from their yelling than the actually bending they'd been doing, which wasn't much. This was more a war of words than elements. For now they had both stopped, though they were both glaring bloody murder at each other. It was hard to imagine that just a few minutes ago the pair had been eating a peaceful breakfast together.

At long last Katara threw her arms in the air in anger and exasperation and then turned and marched out of the clearing. Zuko growled and marched in the opposite direction, both of them going to work off some steam before they killed one another.

* * *

"Of all the nerve!" Katara yelled into the open air under the canopy of tree branches as she marched angrily through the woods. 

"I offer my help and he just blows up at me! I knew he was nothing but an arrogant savage!" she muttered angrily to herself as she forcefully shoved her way through the underbrush. Various curses and insults escaped her usually smiling lips which were now turned down into a ferocious frown.

Soon though the sound of running water came to her and she made for it, hoping that her element could do something to help calm herself. The stream was wide, but fairly shallow here, and Katara had a feeling that it was the same one that she had gone to before to practice her bending, but further up-stream. It must have been fed by a spring far up in the mountains, or so it seemed from the way she kept running into it.

Katara wasted no time in plunging into the water, clothes and all. The deepest part reached a bit up past her waist, and without any further delays, Katara began to push and pull the water, using her anger to fuel her bending. Deep in concentration, Katara began forming a tremendous wall of water behind her, using all of the water that came at her from up-stream. It got taller and taller and eventually no water got past her at all, leaving the stream bed on the other side dry. Katara closed her eyes and continued bending; enjoying the sense of power she got from bending such a massive amount of water to her will.

* * *

Zuko angrily ploughed his way through the forest, seething and frustrated. That presumptuous little water peasant! She thought she could just go wherever she wanted, heal who ever she wanted whenever she wanted! She had even thought that they could be friends! As if he would _ever_ lower himself so much as to become friends with a water peasant, even if he _wasn't_ a prince any more! 

The angry teenager came to a clearing at the edge of a stream and let out a long, frustrated yell, a column of fire shooting up around him as he did so. It was a good thing he was in the clearing or else the trees would have surely caught fire. As it was the ground within a five foot radius of him had been charred severely. Zuko was breathing hard when the fire finally dissipated. He stood on the bank of the stream and watched as the water moved sedately by, still frustrated, though those feelings were slowly dissipating. He suddenly found himself regretting the things he had said to her. In retrospect he realized she really had just wanted to help after all. One hand went up to his scar, something he'd lived with for the past few years now. He hardly remembered what it was like when he didn't have it. What would it be like if he were able to get rid of it once and for all? Would he feel as though he had been freed at long last from his father's grasp? Or would he feel regret, as it would mean that he had finally put his family and kingdom away behind him?

These thoughts gradually led him full circle and back to thoughts of Katara. She had wanted to be friends with him? Surprise flooded his system. He'd never really had any friends before; did he want to be friends with her? Perhaps he wanted even more than that…Zuko shook himself. Right now she was his only ally out here in the forest and it wouldn't be good if she were to leave him, or he her. They needed to stick together, he realized that now. Not just for safety's sake either. Zuko found that he wanted to be with her. She had such a calm, peaceful aura about her…well, most of the time anyways. The fiercness of her anger still surprised him. Her show of anger would have made any firebender proud.

Zuko finally resolved to go and apologize to her, he didn't need another enemy after all, he already had plenty of those. It would be hard though, he rarely apologized to anyone. Zuko blinked in surprise as he suddenly realized that the river he had been staring at seemed to have dried up right before his eyes.

"What the hell…?" Zuko began, jumping down into the now dry stream bed. What the hell was going on to make all the water suddenly disappear? He looked up and down the stream from where he stood, but could see nothing. Figuring the source of the problem was upstream he started walking up it, picking his way through the mud and gravel bottom, his anger forgotten and replaced by curiosity.

It only took a few minutes walking to find the source of the problem. The sight made his eyes widen. Katara was there, eyes closed and bending a massive wall of water behind her, it had to be at least fifty feet tall now, yet she still managed to keep it up.

"Katara! What do you think you're…" Zuko immediately regretted speaking out. Rule number one of bending: **Never** interrupt someone while they're concentrating. The results are _always_ disasterous.

Katara's eyes flew open as Zuko called her name, distracting her from her meditative bending. "Zuko…" there was a groan behind her as she suddenly lost her control over the wall of water. "Zuko run!" she screamed. She barely had time to bend the massive amount of water away from her to keep it from crashing into her and sending her flying down the river. Zuko was not so lucky.

* * *

Zuko whirled and tried to make for the bank of the stream, but barely made it a step before the rush of water smashed into him with bone crushing force. He thought he heard someone scream, but soon he couldn't hear anything but the thunderous rush of water past his ears. Zuko opened his mouth to yell, but only bubbles of air emerged, water soon taking their place in his lungs. He struggled with all of his strength to get to the surface, but he couldn't tell up from down as the water sent him tumbling along the stream bottom like a child's rag doll. Pain racked his body as he collided time and time again with the bottom of the stream and the rocks that inhabited it. It seemed as though the pain would never end, and Zuko knew he was about to die. He could feel himself loosing consciousness from lack of oxygen, and he welcomed it with open arms. Anything to get away from the pain.

* * *

"Zuko! Zuko!" Katara screamed at the top of her lungs, she made her way to the bank with the help of her bending and began running down stream along the bank. Her eyes were wide and filled with terror that she might have just killed the man. There! She could see him under the surface. With a quick upward jerk of her arms, Katara bended the water up into a massive column, Zuko with it. With a flick of her hands the column froze in place, Zuko's torso and head were the only parts of him free from the column's icy grip. Oh gods he looked dead, he was so pale! Katara worked fast and with a sweeping motion, made a sort of icy ramp from the column to the bank, extending it a little ways into the land. One more move released Zuko from his icy prison and sent his unconscious form sliding along the ramp and back onto the land. Katara was there waiting, blue eyes filled with tears as she grabbed the firebender by the arms and dragged him further away from the water. 

"Oh please, oh please don't be dead." The water bender pleaded with Zuko's unmoving form as she lay him down on the leaf covered ground. All thoughts of their earlier argument seemed trivial compared to what had happened now as she placed the firebender's head gently on the ground and sat beside him. With the same move she had used for Aang on Kyoshi Island, Katara used her bending to remove the water from Zuko's lungs. There was a lot of it, too much perhaps.

The young waterbender pressed her ear to Zuko's chest, and panicked when she didn't hear a heart beat. "Oh Zuko, don't leave me! I didn't mean it! I didn't mean a word of what I said earlier!" she cried out, shaking him, but getting no response. Katara remembered something she'd seen her father do years ago to her brother Sokka when he'd fallen into the water. CPR he'd called it. Well, anything to save him now. This was all her fault and she'd never be able to live with herself if she couldn't save Zuko now.

Katara opened Zuko's mouth and after a moment's hesitation pressed her own against it and exhaled, then pressed down on his chest. She repeated this several times, periodically stopping to listen for a heart beat.

* * *

Zuko seemed to be lost in a thick fog that surrounded him, and obscured anything that might have been there from sight. He couldn't seem to find his way out….where was he going anyways? He thought he could hear someone speaking, though they were too far away to be understandable. The tall, pale man spent an indeterminable amount of time wandering aimlessly through the mists, soon finding himself facing a bright white light. It seemed so calm and peaceful, calling out to him like a mother calling lovingly to her child. He took a step towards it again, but once again the in-audible voice came back to haunt him. He looked around and saw a faint blue light in the distance. Somehow it reminded him of something, though he couldn't figure out what it was. 

"Zuko…" came the voice again, though it was very faint and sounded far away.

Who was calling his name?

"Don't leave me please…" It came again. This time Zuko knew the source was the small, distant blue light.

He started to walk towards the blue light, casting one regretful look back at the white light before turning his back on it. There would be time for that later. Someone needed him.

"I'm sorry, just don't leave…" the voice had a tearful, urgent sound to it.

Zuko suddenly found himself running towards the blue light and as he entered it, he was overcome by an intense wave of pain.

* * *

After the initial pain he felt, Zuko felt something soft and warm press gently against his lips, breathing air into his lungs for him. His eyes fluttered open slowly, thought not soon enough to escape another kiss of life from Katara. When Zuko's eyes opened completely he felt a raging blush creep up and across his face as he found her lips pressed against his own. When she pulled away again and reached to press down against his chest once more, he coughed and gasped for breath like a fish out of water. Katara sat back, looking surprised and relieved. 

"You called?" he muttered incoherently in a rough voice from having so much water forced down his throat and pulled back up again. He felt a little muddled still. As he looked into her tear filled eyes, he recognized the gentle blue light from his fog filled dream. So it had been she who had called him back.

"Zuko! Zuko I'm so sorry! I-I had no idea…" Katara suddenly broke down into tears, not sure if she was still upset about nearly drowning Zuko, or if she was just happy to see he was okay after all. She leaned down and pressed her face into his drenched, muscular chest, her tears adding to the water already there.

Zuko hesitantly placed one arm around her, and then tightened his embrace, trying to comfort her. She was crying for him, just for him. It didn't matter that she had been the one to nearly kill him, her tears told of how she regretted it, and he had forgiven her.

They stayed like that for a time, Katara weeping quietly in relief that the man beneath her had survived her unintentional attack. Zuko simply lay there quietly, waiting for her to finish, lending her strength through his gentle embrace. He was too exhausted to do anything else.

* * *

Woo! Well that's the end of chapter seven! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Nothing like a near death experience to bring two people closer together XD 

for those of you who missed it the first time, here's the picture to go with this chapter! this time it's just Katara because I was in a bit of a hurry.

http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 32185605/

Just remove the spaces as usual and tell me what you think! 

Anyways, I decided to make this one extra long since the last chapter was so darn short. thanks for reading all the way through this long chapter! Tell me what you think please! Reviews really make my day!


	8. Cold nights, warm heart

Authors Note: OMG sorry this is so late guys but things happen, ya? more at the bottom about my lame excuses XP I'll warn you ahead of time that I didn't edit this a third time like I normally do, so please forgive me for any mistakes! I just didn't really have time and didn't want to keep you fans waiting.

On the plus side, here's another pic for you guys!

**http//www. deviantart. com/ view /32246130/**

Just take out the spaces as per usual.

anyhoo, on to chapter 8!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 8: Cold night, warm heart.

After some time, Katara sat up once more, sniffing and wiping away moisture from her tear stained cheeks.

"I'm sorry for going to pieces like this but…" Katara began in a choking voice. She was stopped though when she looked back at Zuko where he lay on the ground, eyes closed and unmoving. The waterbender nearly panicked, thinking that he'd relapsed while she had been busy crying her eyes out. The quickening of her heart was settled once more though when she saw after a closer look that Zuko was still alive, merely sleeping.

She could have laughed at herself for being so panicky. She was overreacting big time. Katara looked around and decided that it would be best to leave Zuko where he was for now and let him rest. She wasn't anywhere near enough strong enough to carry him back to their camp without dragging him, which could disturb any injuries he probably had; not to mention him from what appeared to be a peaceful slumber.

The healer could see several cuts and scratches on his face and body through rips in his clothing, but decided to wait on healing them. None of them seemed life threatening enough to make her want to heal Zuko without his permission, especially after their fight only a few hours before. So instead Katara scooted back across the leaf strewn forest floor and rested her back against the trunk of a tall birch tree. She crossed her legs, deciding to watch over Zuko as he slept rather than going back to camp and leaving him on his own. Spirits only knew what would happen if she left a prone, injured man on his own in the woods, some platypus bear would probably come by and carry him off…

Katara shuddered at that thought. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, then exhaled slowly. When she opened her eyes again, she looked over at Zuko and couldn't help but smile at him fondly. Despite his earlier ordeal, he looked so calm and peaceful. Katara had a feeling that Zuko had finally found a deep, healing sleep that he hadn't had in what she knew had to be years. Well, besides the one he'd had last night, but she didn't know about that as she had been asleep herself.

When had she begun to feel this fondness towards her former enemy? At one time she would have been disappointed in herself for feeling anything but hatred towards a fire bender, but now she was glad. The water bender couldn't help but hope that Zuko felt a little of the same towards her. She was happy to have him as a friend. The thought that he just might be more than a friend didn't even occur to her. Sure she sometimes experience some strange feelings around him, but she'd had those around Aang too before Zuko had stopped chasing them.

Aang…that was someone she hadn't thought of in a few days. Things had been so hectic lately she'd hardly had a chance to. At one time she had thought she'd had a crush on Aang, but now she was feeling the same thing towards Zuko, and perhaps even more powerfully than before when she'd traveled with her brother and the Avatar. Had she been wrong about having a crush on Aang, even a small one? Spirit's above, did she have a crush on _Zuko?_ No, that wasn't possible either. They had just barely become friends; crushes were out of the question entirely. Katara had never been in love before, so she could hardly say what love felt like, well, besides love for her family of course.

The young woman shook herself so vigorously that her braid swung back and forth. Enough of that! It was out of the question. Even if she did _like_ Zuko, she had a feeling that the chances of him liking her back were about a million to one. All these thoughts of crushes brought her back to the time she and Aang had kissed in the cave of two lovers. The memory made her blush unconsciously. But even that couldn't compare to what she'd felt that day in the bath with Zuko, or even a week ago when she had healed him. Aang was cute but…Zuko was just plain sexy; she had to admit.

Katara smacked her forehead with the heel of her hand as though trying to knock such thoughts from her mind. Here Zuko was having just survived a near death experience and she was too busy considering whether or not she had a crush on him! Clearly she just needed to get up and do something with her hands to distract herself. Katara stood and shaded her eyes with one hand as she looked up at the sun above her. It would be lunch soon; perhaps she should start on it so that Zuko could have something to eat when he woke up.

Katara smacked one fist into the palm of her other hand in a sign of determination. She would catch some fish and cook those so that there'd be at least _something_ for Zuko to eat to help him get his strength back so that they could make it back to camp for the night.

The bank of the stream was only a few yards away since Katara hadn't had time to drag Zuko any further away after rescuing him. There were a number of rocks poking out of the surface of the water. The water bender picked the largest one and jumped out to it, landing neatly. She'd had enough of being in the water for one day, and so decided to do her fishing while remaining as dry as possible. Katara took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she let the sound of rushing water fill her ears. When she opened her bright blue eyes again she turned her gaze down to the water just below her feet, watching carefully for fish. Time passed, but Katara waited in silence, remaining patient. Eventually she spotted a fish below her. It was a large river trout, and didn't seem to notice she was there. With a sudden jerk of her arms the fish was born up out of the stream in an orb of water. Katara fought to keep the fish under control as it tried to get out, swaying her arms and body to manipulate the water so as to keep the fish confined. She clinched her fingers and the water around the fish froze, killing it instantly. The piece of ice dropped out of the air and into Katara's out stretched hands. The girl smiled happily at her success. One fish wouldn't be enough too feed both of them though. Best to get at least two more, she thought. So she took another deep breath and settled down into silence, watching the stream closely without moving a muscle, looking like a living statue.

* * *

Zuko stirred groggily from his sleep. His mind was fogged by exhaustion, and his entire body seemed to be throbbing from his beating earlier by the water. The firebender sat up, holding back a groan of protest that he longed to release. He brushed one calloused hand over his eyes, rubbing the sleep from them as he looked around. Zuko's hand drifted down to his mouth to cover it as he yawned widely. In due course Zuko finally spotted Katara on the stream. He tried to figure out what it was she was doing out there on that rock, but it seemed beyond his exhausted mind to figure it out. He couldn't get up and investigate either. Best to conserve his energy for now, he could wait and let her tell him what she was doing. Perhaps she was meditating?

The man sat there and watched the girl stand there, still as a statue for more than a minute. His mind slowly came around to full wakefulness, though he was still puzzled by her actions, or rather, lack of action. His question was answered a moment later though when Katara suddenly swung her arms up and into a smooth, graceful arc, streaming the water out of the stream beneath her feet. It took him a moment to realize that there was a fish in the water that she was bending. He continued watching as his companion froze the water and its contents and caught it as it dropped out of the air. Zuko couldn't help but smile to himself at the happy, accomplished look on Katara's face. Leave it to a water bender to catch a fish in such a ridiculous manner.

Zuko let himself lean back against the trunk of the same birch tree that Katara had while he had been asleep, watching as she collected several frozen blocks and placed them in a make-shift basket she made by holding out the end of her long, blue tunic, letting it hang loosely and hold the fish she had caught. Looked like it was going to be fish for dinner.

* * *

Katara was humming quietly to herself as she collected the frozen fish and returned to where she had left Zuko sleeping. She smiled warmly at him when she saw that he was awake.

"How are you feeling?" she asked as she stood before him. "I caught some fish while you were asleep. I figured that I'd have a chance to cook them before you woke, but I guess I was wrong." She said with a small sigh and a helpless shrug.

"Absolutely wretched." Zuko said in reply to her first question, gazing up at her with his intent golden eyes. What was with that smile anyways? Was she really happy to see him, or was she just sucking up to him because she had nearly killed him that morning and didn't want to piss him off? Zuko rubbed his temples with one hand, trying to ease the pain that had built up there. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a cool, soothing hand press gently against his forehead. The exiled prince opened his eyes and looked at the young woman before him. She was on her knees, leaning forward to reach his forehead. The pain slowly seeped away at her touch, leaving him able to think more clearly than before. His eyes searched to meet hers, taking in the sad look on her normally pretty face and feeling guilty, as though it were somehow his fault that she was upset.

"I know what you must be thinking." Katara said quietly as she pulled her hand away from his face. "I'm a horrible person for what I did. I didn't mean too attack you, I swear! I-…" Katara ceased talking as Zuko reached up and grabbed her hand as she began to pull away from him.

"Don't blame yourself. It was…dumb of me to have interrupted someone while they were bending." Zuko said, wincing as he was forced to admit he had indeed been in the wrong. When he looked back to her he found that she was finally looking him in the eye.

Katara's heart seemed to double its pace as the firebender reached out and grabbed her hand as though he didn't want to let her go. Despite her sudden nervousness, she couldn't help but smile. "Call it even then?" she asked in a slightly rough voice as her stomach seemed to dance as though hosting a party of butterflies.

Zuko's heart began acting strangely as well as the dark skinned water tribeswoman smiled at him. He found that he could only nod in return. It was a fair deal. They had both been at fault. Well…mostly him, but his pride hadn't diminished so much that he'd readily admit that aloud.

Not able to stand the way her heart seemed to be trying to burst free of her chest. Katara pulled her hand gently from Zuko's grasp and stood once more, collecting her fish and asking "Can you walk?"

The firebender was nearly disappointed when Katara pulled away from him, but found that when she did, his heart began to settle once more. Rather than answering her question, Zuko got to his feet. He did so slowly though, using the tree to help himself up; still resting one hand on it once he made it all the way up.

"I should at least be able to make it back to camp." He said, though on the inside he wasn't all together sure. Before she could question him though, the proud young man pushed off the tree and walked back towards camp. After a few yards though, he had a feeling he wasn't going to make it all the way after all. Spirits curse his pride.

Just then, senses still dulled by pain and exhaustion, Zuko tripped on a protruding root in the path and began to fall. He braced himself for impact, but instead of hard ground connecting with his body, he felt something soft and warm instead. He opened his eyes, which he hadn't realized he'd closed, and saw Katara there holding him up, having caught him around the torso from the front before he could connect with the unforgiving ground.

"Ah…Thank you." The firebender said, embarrassed that he should even have had to be caught by the girl.

"Its no problem. Here, let me help you." She said, maneuvering herself so that his left arm was slung across her shoulders. The actual need for this action cancelled out any embarrassment she might have felt otherwise. With her left hand she held onto his to keep Zuko's arm from sliding off her shoulder and with her right she held up one end of her skirt to keep the frozen fish from tumbling out.

"There, all set." She said, smiling over at Zuko.

Zuko nearly pulled away from her assistance, but he knew that would just be plain stupid. After all, it wasn't as though she were flirting with him or anything, just trying to be helpful. Why would she flirt with him anyways? In his perspective, he was far from handsome thanks to his scar, and didn't have a penny to his name. Far from a desirable man to be sure. So after a moment's tense hesitation, Zuko nodded his head and allowed himself to lean slightly against the waterbender at his side. He was surprised to find that she was much stronger than she appeared, easily handling both his weight, and that of the fish in her make-shift basket.

Together the pair made their way slowly but surely back to camp, pausing only once to catch their breath before continuing on again. Camp was a welcome sight to them both, making Katara sigh with relief, and Zuko to long for the place under the pine tree where he slept on the soft ground that was covered in large, dull needles.

As though Katara had read his mind, the water tribe girl led him under the tree and helped him lay down; staying there with him a minute to make sure he was comfortable. When he was lying down on his back once more, and as comfortable as one could be at the base of a pine tree, she turned to leave.

"Thank you…for your help." Zuko murmured, half asleep already.

Katara paused and smiled back at him. "It's okay, really." She assured him.

"Especially after what I said to you this morning as well. I'm sorry for that too." He said, and then drifted off to sleep.

Katara doubted the prince would remember what he had said when he awoke, but it still made her happy all the same. Not wanting to disturb her friend's slumber, she ducked out from under the pine boughs and into the bright afternoon sunlight. Katara set about pulling a pot out of her pack and adding water to it. She filleted the fish with the knife given to her years ago by her mother, and added that plus several chopped, tasty looking tubers and an assortment of spices to the pot. Luckily the embers from their earlier fire were still there, glowing a dull red until she retrieved more wood and some kindling. It wasn't long until the fire was up and going again, the pot of fish stew hung over it to cook slowly until evening when they would eat it for supper.

Having nothing else to do while Zuko slept, and not wanting to practice her bending right then (she'd had more than enough of that today.), Katara decided to lay back and relax for the time being. She flopped back onto the mossy ground and stretched, a small ache arising in her side, but she ignored it. She lay there for a time, thinking of nothing and simply watching the clouds drift by above her. The waterbender brushed her hand over the soft covering of moss that seemed to proliferate there in the forest, and decided to examine it closer. Katara soon discovered a small clump of tiny white flowers just out of her reach coming up out of the moss. They were quite pretty, looking small and frail there amongst the surrounding trees and occasional bush. She reached out to pick one from where she lay on her back, but found they were just out of her reach. Mildly frustrated, Katara rolled over to try and get to them, but suddenly found her body racked by pain.

The young water bending master hissed in pain and curled up into a fetal position until the waves of pain receded. In all the events recently the girl had actually forgotten that just two weeks ago she had come here to this mountain with a broken rib. It was probably better that this had happened now rather than later, she thought as she sat up again, wiping small beads of sweat from her brow; now at least she knew she still had to be careful about her rib.

* * *

Later that evening Zuko awoke once more and came out from under the pine tree and sat on the opposite side of the campfire from Katara, eyeing the pot hanging over it. He had been drawn out of a deep slumber by the emptiness of his stomach, and the smell of food cooking.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Fish stew." Katara said, covering up a yawn as she spoke. She hadn't slept at all that day. She had wanted to take a nap, but was afraid that the smell of food might attract wild animals while she slept, which was not something she wanted to have to deal with.

Zuko saw this right off the bat and became worried. Not only did she look tired, but she was also a little pale, or so he thought. Her normally dark skin seemed a shade lighter, as though she had experienced a great amount of pain recently. He wanted to ask if something had happened, but found himself unable to. Instead he asked "What about tonight?" He could have hit himself for sounding so odd.

"Excuse me?" she asked after attempting to hold in another yawn, not sure what he was getting at.

"Tonight. We need to go check to see if it is safe to return in the morning." He stated.

"Oh, right. I'll go." She said. When Zuko didn't pose an argument Katara looked over at him, but found that he appeared to be lost in thought, staring at the fire before him without really seeing it.

After that agreement things went silent. Zuko remained deep in thought and Katara began idly braiding strands of grass together to ease her boredom between yawns. Finally the sun began to set, slowly disappearing behind the mountain top above them. Katara stood and dusted herself off.

"Well, I'd better get going. Would you mind stirring the stew occasionally while I'm gone?" She asked Zuko.

The firebender had been drawn from his thoughts by Katara suddenly standing and speaking to him.

"What? Oh…sure." Zuko said, watching as Katara smiled at him and then disappeared into the approaching night amongst the trees.

Katara wouldn't have realized it, but Zuko had actually been thinking about her. Her display of bending that morning had been extraordinary, if she had intentionally hit him with that wave, he had no doubt he'd be floating somewhere out in the ocean right about now. The thought sent a shiver down his spine; and yet she hadn't, despite how angry he'd obviously made her. He could still remember her calling out to him as the water had rushed toward him like a roaring wall of death. His tumble along the stream bed had been agony, slamming repeatedly into the gravel and rocks, suffocated by the merciless water.

Zuko winced at the memory, and it was soon banished as he remembered waking up to the waterbender's kiss of life. Who did she think she was, kissing him! Well, he supposed she had been doing to revive him…that and it hadn't been so bad…enjoyable really. Her lips had been so soft, yet pressed firmly against his own as she exhaled to fill his lungs. It made Zuko feel rather pathetic that he'd had to drown to get the girl to even think about kissing him, and it hadn't even been a real kiss.

Zuko was about ready to shake himself mentally again at the thought of her kissing him, but had a second thought. Would it really be so bad if she did?

"Not like I'm a prince or anything." He said bitterly to himself.

Katara was pretty, smart, a powerful bender…what more could a man want in a woman? Yet the exiled prince still had reservations. She was Water tribe, and he of the Firenation, surely any relationship they had would be frowned upon by both sides.

Zuko sighed aloud and reached over to stir the contents of the pot woman in question had prepared. Here he was thinking about the impossibilities of a relationship when that relationship was clearly impossible for other reasons. He doubted that Katara even thought of him as any more than an ally, and why would she? He was damaged goods. His face hardened as he reached up and brushed his hand across his scar, and feeling that he truly hated it for the first time in his life for a reason other than why he had gotten it.

He lost track of the time he spent mulling over these bitter thoughts, and barely heard the crack of a twig behind him that signaled someone's approach. He leapt smoothly to his feet and turned to face the source of the sound, fists at the ready should it be someone who meant him ill.

Katara stumbled into camp, looking a little scuffed up from her climb down and then back up the mountain through the forest. She was so tired she was surprised she had even made it back, she had nearly convinced herself that she was lost until she had spotted their fire through the trees.

"Katara, what happened?" Zuko suddenly asked, brow furrowed as he looked her up and down. She looked exhausted and more than a little worse for wear.

"What did you see?" he asked as a second thought, hoping that they would be able to leave in the morning.

The water bender only shook her head. "They had a red lantern up, it's not safe to go back yet." She said with a sad shake of her head. She too had been hoping that they'd be able to return tomorrow. Katara sat herself down by the fire and looked into the pot, attracted to it by the alluring smell that wafted forth from its contents. Seeing that it appeared done, she wrapped her hand in a cloth and pulled it off the fire to keep it from burning.

She turned to Zuko and asked "Would you get some bowls and…" she was interrupted though by his sudden appearance by her side, in between her and the pack that held their things.

She inhaled quickly when he suddenly reached up to her face, looking at her intently. Her breath caught in her throat though and her heart seemed to be about to jump right out of her chest as her eyes met his. His eyes seemed like liquid gold in the light of the fire beside them, that same light casting a sharp shadow across his scarred face. He seemed so frightening and yet…

Katara didn't have a chance to pinpoint what else because he suddenly reached up to her face with one hand, making her freeze, her heart still going crazy.

Zuko quickly pulled his hand away though saying "Leaf in your hair," holding a small green leaf up as proof. He lingered close to her, reveling in her wide blue eyes, but soon pulled away, turning to pull two bowls and spoons from their packs. His heart seemed to ache, what had that look in her eyes been? Not fear…something else. As he handed her the bowls, he tried to make eye contact with her again, but was unable to as she began spooning stew out into their bowls.

"Here, I hope you like it." She said in a quiet voice, handing him a bowl and then started eating her own.

"Thank you." He said after a long pause. He dug in hungrily, having not eaten since that morning. Once again he was impressed by his companion's culinary skills as the food proved to be delicious. He nearly said something, but decided not too as his stomach convinced him to just keep eating.

The pair ate dinner in silence until Katara stood and cleaned out her bowl, setting it aside and disappearing back under their shelter to sleep. She would have said goodnight under normal circumstances, but she was so exhausted to even think of it. She had hoped to stay up and see if the way she had woken up this morning with Zuko so close to her had been something he did intentionally or just ended up like that on accident. Ah well, perhaps tomorrow.

Katara let her breathing fall into a more rhythmic pace and had nearly drifted off until she heard Zuko enter their small sleeping area and lay down a little ways from her. Perhaps she'd get her chance after all. Rather than say anything as he entered, she allowed the fire bender to think her asleep. She didn't really expect anything to happen, and for awhile, nothing did. Soon she could not longer hold in her shivers as the cool night air set in around them, making her sure that she'd have a miserable night. Katara hoped Zuko wouldn't get offended if she were grumpy in the morning.

The young woman's ears picked up the sound of someone moving nearby. Perhaps it was just Zuko rolling over in his sleep. When she felt a wave of warmth pass over her though, she realized that he hadn't just been rolling over, but moving in closer to her. To keep her warm? Perhaps.

"What are you doing?" Katara whispered, not speaking too loudly just in case he really was asleep. Apparently he wasn't though, because Katara could feel him tense behind her even though they weren't touching.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were still awake." Zuko said and began to move away again, thoroughly embarrassed that she had caught him. He could have sworn that she was asleep already.

As he moved away though, Katara reached over and grabbed his hand. "No wait! I mean, I-I don't mind." She stuttered, feeling like an idiot. "You're…very warm. Perhaps we should lay together just to keep warm." She suggested, blushing madly in the dark at the thought of it, and yet at the same time she felt a little excited at the thought. Her heart began to beat a little faster.

Zuko paused as her hand reached out and caught his own. It was small and cool against his own. He hesitated a moment longer, was she really asking him to remain close to her? Zuko couldn't help but blush himself, but lay back down. He steeled himself for a slap, but he moved in closer to her and tentatively looped one arm around her narrow waist.

Katara felt as though she could feel his movements behind her through her skin even though they weren't touching, and when he wrapped his arm around her, enveloping her in a blanket of comforting warmth, she sighed happily. She realized what she had done a moment to late and prayed he hadn't heard her. He was so warm though, and not at all as frightening as he sometimes seemed. He was being kind to her, kinder than she could have ever expected. Unconsciously the young waterbending master moved back a little until her back was pressed up against his chest. She reveled in his warmth, enjoying the play of his warm breath across the nape of her neck and the way his strong, yet gentle arms held her close. It didn't take her long to drift off to sleep in this condition despite the way her heart was behaving.

Zuko was shocked as Katara actually moved in closer to him and sighed happily. Was she actually happy about this for more than just keeping warm? But then again, perhaps he was just reading her wrong. In any case, he himself couldn't help but feel a little glad, reveling in the way she seemed to fit perfectly up against his body, the earthy scent of her hair that was unadorned by scented shampoos like most women's he had encountered.

Unlike Katara though, Zuko did not drift immediately off to sleep. Instead, he watched her for a time, finding himself loving the gentle smile that graced her attractive face as she slept, and the way a few stray moon beams drifted in through the branches of the pine to light on her dark hair and skin. He held her close, resolving to enjoy the feel of her in his arms while he could.

It was like that that the pair drifted off to sleep on their second night in the forest.

* * *

Iroh sat in the dining room with Emi and Eri, looking out of the window at the waning moon in the clear night sky. It looked a bit chilly out, a concern he decided to voice aloud to the two sisters. "It looks rather cool out tonight, do you think they'll be okay without blankets?" He asked.

"Oh they'll be just fine," Emi started.

"If they resolve themselves to sleeping in one another's arms." Eri finished with a merry laugh.

Iroh couldn't help but chuckle at the two women's cunning. "I don't know, my nephew can be notoriously stubborn." He said.

"Oh they'll have to in order to keep warm." Eri said with a sly wink.

* * *

OMG I'm so sorry this is so late! I was just so busy last night and didn't really have as many chances as I normally do too write. And then this weekend my mother was making me do horrid outdoor chores that involved heavy labor, it sucked. Anyhoo, hope you guys enjoyed the latest chapter!

In case you guys didn't spot this above:

**http//www. deviantart. com/ view /32246130/**

Kat A. Klysmic


	9. Confused eyes behind a warm embrace

Author's Note: Sorry this is a week late guys, but it was just another one of those weeks, ya know? And I didn't want to update in the middle of the week and get off my usual schedule, so here it is! Hope it was worth the wait for you guys!

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 9: Confused eyes behind a warm embrace

Zuko awoke slowly the next morning, so overcome by a sense of peace that he could hardly stir from where he lay. Now there was a feeling the young firebender could not recall feeling before. Normally, even when exhausted he would feel compelled to get immediately out of bed and begin his morning absolutions as soon as the sun rose. Confused, Zuko's lethargic mind struggled to find the cause for this strange sensation.

The man's golden eyes cracked open slowly, taking in the sight before him. His arms were wrapped securely around a young woman, holding her close without being too confining. Her back was pressed gently against his chest, the rest of her lithe body fitted closely against his own, her tan hands clasped lightly over his own as she slept peacefully.

As Zuko came closer to full wakefulness, yesterday's events came rushing back to him. Their argument, nearly drowning, being rescued and given mouth to mouth by the lovely lady in his arms. Then eating dinner and falling asleep with Katara in his arms for warmth and comfort. The firebender shifted his position slightly so he could peek over his companion's shoulder, careful not to wake her. Her long brown hair had tugged loose from her braid in places, forming a sort of halo around her head in the morning light. The hair loops she always wore the front of her hair in had also pulled loose from her braid, one of the free to cascade across her smooth tan cheek, and down her long, graceful neck. Zuko reached over and gently brushed the stray bunch of hair out of her face where it would not disturb her. The corners of her full lips were turned up ever so slightly in a content smile that Zuko couldn't help but mimic. The man considered waking Katara up and beginning their day, but found he just couldn't bring himself to do so. She just looked so peaceful there in his arms. Zuko settled back down behind her again, deciding that a little while longer couldn't hurt. It wasn't like they had anything important to do that day or anything. As he lay back down, Zuko wrapped his arms around the girl again, resting his chin on her shoulder and quickly falling back into a restful doze.

* * *

When Katara's sea blue eyes finally opened, it was to meet the light of the sun that shone down from straight above them. A few stray beams had managed to make their way through the thick, spiny branches of the pine tree, making the waterbender squint her eyes. She tried to roll over, but found herself held down by something. Puzzled, the woman took a closer look around her and saw that she was still wrapped in Zuko's arms, making her blush slightly. She remembered that they had agreed to lay together for the sake of staying warm, but that small smile on Zuko's face, and the fluttering of Katara's heart made her think that maybe the both of them might have had a different reason for suggesting it.

Katara carefully unfolded her male companion's arms from around her and sat up, her back to him. She reached up one hand to brush it through her hair, but it got caught by the mess she found there. The young woman frowned slightly to herself and immediately removed the tie from her braid and shook her hair loose. She reached into one of the bags and found a brush. She paused and looked at it, marveling at how Eri and Emi could remember a brush for her pack, but not a blanket. Katara could only shake her head and begin brushing out her long brown hair with long, even strokes, pausing to pick out an occasional leaf or small twig.

When Katara pulled away from him, Zuko awoke once more, though decided to feign sleep for a bit longer. He rested his head on one arm, watching as Katara brushed out her long brown hair until it shone in the sunlight like a long sheet of glossy silk the color of chocolate. Zuko was suddenly filled with the urge to reach out and stroke Katara's hair, to tell her how beautiful she was, but he was stopped before he could utter a word.

Katara looked around and saw Zuko watching her. She smiled at him a little uncertainly, wondering why he was watching her so closely with those golden eyes of his.

"Good morning." She said as she began braiding her hair, knowing that he still watched her.

"More like afternoon." Zuko replied, sitting up and rubbing one hand through his short mop of ebony hair, dislodging any small bits of debris that might have gotten caught there.

Katara laughed a little "I guess you're right. What happened to you 'rising with the sun', hmm?" she asked in jest, quoting what he had told her so long ago at the north pole that night they had fought over custody of the Avatar.

Zuko winced and then retorted "Hey, you nearly drowned me yesterday you know! I'm allowed to sleep in."

Now it was Katara's turn to wince. He just had to bring that up didn't he? She decided to ignore it for now.

"Anyways, I'm hungry, how about you?" she asked, changing the subject abruptly as she stood and brushed herself off.

Zuko nodded and let it slide; standing as Katara rapidly exited the small enclosure. When he came out he had to block the sun from his eyes momentarily before looking around. He saw Katara crouching down by the remains of their fire from the night before. She was trying to light it again, but didn't seem to be accomplishing much.

"Here, I'll do it." The exiled prince said with a roll of his golden eyes. He flipped a finger at the pile of wood Katara had collected and it immediately burst into flame.

Katara raised her eyebrows and said "Show off." She was smiling though, and turned to grab the two left over fish from the day before. She had frozen them enough that they were only just now defrosting, meaning that they were still fresh. She found two long sticks and lay them in the fire for a minute to burn away anything that might contaminate the fish. That done, she gutted the fish and then impaled them on the sticks, stabbing the opposite end of the stick into the ground so that the fish hung out over the flames to cook.

"There," Katara said with a satisfied nod.

Zuko sat down near Katara, though not so near as the previous night, watching as she worked. Once again he was impressed by the deftness of her movements as she prepared their meals.

"It's a good thing you're here." Zuko said aloud. He suddenly started blushing slightly, having not meant to say that aloud.

"Oh really, why?" Katara asked curiously, happy that he appreciated her company.

Zuko coughed embarrassedly. For a moment it looked like he wasn't going to answer, but since she had asked him, he had to answer. "Well, I can't cook to save my life." He mumbled, embarrassed.

Katara chuckled in amusement at the firebenders confession. "Then you're right, it is a good thing I'm here, other wise you'd starve. Does your uncle cook then? Because it looks like the two of you have been traveling together for awhile since you…um…left your ship." She said, stumbling over the last part. She was a little unsure about what to say about his officially being tracked down by his sister.

Zuko shook his head. "No, he can't cook either." He said with a pained expression.

Katara looked startled "Then how on earth did the two of you feed yourselves?" she asked.

The firebender coughed a little, embarrassed again, though he wasn't sure why. "Well I…had to steal food of course. How else? Uncle tried to brew himself some tea from a flower once and broke out in a rash." Zuko said with an exasperated sigh at the memory.

Katara started to say something disapproving about Zuko's stealing habit, but changed her mind. What else could he have done? He and Iroh weren't like Katara and her friends who were supported by the leaders of the earth and water nations and provided with money. She couldn't really blame him for what he'd had to resort too, he had been a pampered prince all his life, it was no wonder he didn't know much about outdoor survival, unlike she and her brother. She was sure he'd only stolen from those who could afford it anyways.

Katara did laugh though when Zuko related his story about Iroh and the white jade. "And he made tea out of it? You two should really get out more!" the water bender said with a laugh.

Zuko tried to frown as Katara laughed at him, but found he couldn't. Instead he actually began to smile, just a bit. In retrospect, the tea incident was pretty funny. It wasn't just that though; Katara had a contagious laugh that made him want to laugh as well. He managed to keep himself mostly under control, though he did still grin up at her, only a little embarrassed.

Katara stopped laughing and grinned back at Zuko and pointed out "You're smiling."

Zuko raised an eyebrow, his smile diminishing a little. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Oh, no!" Katara said hurriedly. She liked it when he smiled, it made him seem so much younger and kinder.

"I really like it when you smile, it makes you look a lot more handsome than when you frown." She said. She blushed as soon as she finished speaking though; she hadn't meant to say _that_! She did believe what she said though, it wasn't just idle chatter.

"Oh…" Zuko replied, at a loss for words. That was just about the last thing he had expected to hear. He turned and looked away to hide the coloring of his cheeks. She actually thought he was handsome? Even with the scar that marred nearly half of his face? She didn't seem like the type to lie but…it just seemed so unlikely to him.

"So you…think I'm handsome?" The exiled prince asked the water tribe girl, still looking in the other direction; he had to know what she really thought, though he wasn't sure why that was so important to him.

The bright afternoon sunlight shone down warmly on their small clearing, making their small campfire seem small and dim in comparison. Vibrant hues of green were brought out in the leaves of the surrounding trees, as well as the grass and deep emerald moss that carpeted the ground. High in the trees above them, birds sang, calling sweet notes to one another as a cool breeze swept through the branches of the trees, making them sigh.

Katara fiddled with the sticks the fish were impaled on, turning them to cook on the other side now. Her tan cheeks had a rosy hue to them, though it could have just been her close proximity to the fire before her. That done, Katara fiddled with her braid, examining it closely as though it were very interesting as she replied.

"Yes…I suppose I do…" she said quietly.

"You _think_ you do?" Zuko asked, turning his head slightly to look at her at last.

"I mean, I do." She said, still quiet, but firm.

Before Zuko could reply, or even think on this, Katara distracted him by saying "The fish is done, here's yours," and handing it to him without meeting his eyes.

Zuko took his fish and watched helplessly as the woman in front of him grabbed up her own lunch and disappeared off into the forest along the path to the river. He so badly wanted to chase after her, to tell Katara that he thought she was beautiful, more beautiful than any woman he had ever met, but found himself seemingly frozen to the ground.

* * *

It was sunset before Katara finally returned to find Zuko stretched out under a birch tree at the edge of the clearing. As she drew closer to him, wanting to apologize for her sudden disappearance earlier, she saw that he appeared to be asleep…and shirtless. On closer examination, she could see small burnt patches here and there in the moss, confirming her theory that the man had been practicing his fire bending in her absence. Katara knelt by the fire, trying to stir it back to life, but soon gave up. She could have done it herself if she had bothered to find some kindling, but she thought it would be easier if Zuko would just use his bending to light it again and save them both some effort.

Standing again, Katara walked to his side and kneeled down on the soft, mossy ground. It was no wonder Zuko had chosen this place to lay down, it was nearly as soft as any bed back in the sanctuary. She reached out to wake him, but paused as her eyes roved from his face down his chest to where his pants began. His chest was covered in bruises from his tumble along the stream bed the day before, making Katara wince with guilt. How could she have forgotten to ask him if he needed healing?

Without even thinking, Katara un-corked her water flask and formed a healing glove around her hand with it. She laid her hand gently on Zuko's collar bone, healing a dark bruise that had appeared there. She went from bruise to bruise, frowning in concentration until she reached the last one. As she healed it she murmured quietly "I swear; he gets beat up more than any person I have ever met." And that was saying a lot considering that she was related to Sokka.

* * *

Zuko was brought back into wakefulness by a cool touch and the soft murmur of a feminine voice. Without opening his eyes all the way the firebender looked from under his lashes at Katara as she rested one softly glowing hand on his stomach. Once more he watched in fascination as the bruise vanished steadily beneath her tender touch. When the girl turned back to look at him, Zuko automatically closed his eyes. Why was he hiding that he was awake? What was he expecting to happen…

It took all of Zuko's control not to open his eyes in surprise as Katara placed a cool hand against his forehead, seemingly taking his temperature. Did she think he was sick? Surely he didn't look that unwell. It took even more control not to shiver as her hand moved from his forehead and soft finger tips traced their way down the side of the face and to his chin as though tracing his profile. What on earth was she doing? Zuko's acting was tested further when those fingertips went from his chin to his collar bone, brushing delicately along it and down to his shoulder.

* * *

In her head, Katara reprimanded for taking advantage of the ex-prince while he was sleeping like this, but part of her was enjoying it too much to care. Not like she was doing anything bad; his body was just fascinating to her. Before Zuko, Sokka and Aang were the only boys around her own age that she had seen shirtless, and she certainly didn't feel anything for her brother. Aang…well, Aang just wasn't as mature as Zuko. Once again Katara found herself reflecting on how different the two were. Aang was cute, funny, and fun to be around; but Zuko was dark, handsome, mysterious, and Katara couldn't help but feel a kind of attraction to him. Her tan hand drifted from his shoulder and down along his powerful looking chest and down to his abs that even when relaxed were still fairly visible.

* * *

Zuko wondered if Katara realized that she was just about to drive him out of his mind with what she was doing to him. The young man felt a fire flare up within him that had nothing to do with his bending. It was a feeling that would have normally made him blush like it had that day in the hot springs. Was this the same sensation? No, it was definitely stronger.

When the girl's hand drifted down to his navel, the fire bender decided he couldn't take any more and sat up so quickly that Katara let out a small yell of surprise. Let her yell, he didn't care. Zuko caught her hand in his to keep her from falling backwards and away from him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zuko demanded, his eyes glowing like molten gold in the light of the quickly setting sun. His voice was low and rough as he spoke, though it did not sound angry. The fire bender was breathing a little harder than normal as though he had been fighting against himself for some time.

Katara's wide blue eyes met Zuko's golden ones and saw something in them that she didn't recognize. Her body seemed to respond to it though as she felt herself tingle all over and a small flame seemed to flicker into life somewhere within her.

"I uh…" she stammered, flushing crimson across her tan cheeks, unsure of how to explain herself now that she'd been caught.

"Well? Do you always take advantage of sleeping me?" he asked in a kind of dark humor.

"W-well no! I mean of course not!" she objected. "And I wasn't!"

"Uh huh, really now." He replied, moving in closer to the nervous water bender. He caught her bright blue eyes with his own and looked into them intently as though trying to read her mind. He saw her nervousness and even the guilt she felt for what she had done; what surprised him though was the hint of desire that he saw a flicker of as they looked into one another's eyes.

Katara could feel her heart racing in her chest, almost as if it were a bird trying to break free of its cage. They were so close, close enough that the young woman could smell Zuko's now familiar smoky scent. His golden eyes seemed to pierce into her very soul, and his gaze sent shivers down her spine. For a moment as Katara watched him, Zuko's eyes seemed to change. Not in color, but perhaps it was the emotions behind them that did so. Briefly, a strange, burning excitement filled them, making her catch her breath in surprise.

Zuko pulled back abruptly though, dropping her hand almost as though it had burned him. He got to his feet as though nothing had happened.

"The sun's nearly gone." He said plainly, forcibly not looking in the water bender's direction. "I'll go check on Uncle and the others."

With that, Zuko walked off into the forest, scooping up his shirt and donning it quickly as he walked away, leaving a confused Katara feeling as though she'd glimpsed something important only to have it vanish.

* * *

Zuko moved at a quick pace down the increasingly familiar path back to the sanctuary where his uncle and the others were still residing. He took deep breaths of the cool mountain air to calm his nerves which were practically vibrating he was so tense. Not to mention the dizzy sensation he was still experiencing from his close encounter with the water tribe woman. The emotions that she had stirred in him when she'd touched him were like none other that he had ever felt before. And then when he'd looked into her eyes and she'd stared at him so avidly, he'd nearly lost control of himself. He prayed silently to the fire god that the lantern would be green tonight. He wasn't sure he'd be able to resist the temptation Katara posed much longer.

The firebender ceased his forward movement and came to a halt in the middle of the narrow path, staring down at his own hands. What was he going to do with himself if he kept acting like this around her? He wasn't some animal to be ruled by his emotions! He was a proud fire bender, if not a prince anymore. And yet…Zuko clenched his hands into tight fists. And yet every time he saw Katara he couldn't help but feel the sudden surge of emotions at the sight of her. She was beautiful, graceful, powerful, and intelligent; enough to drive any man mad with desire. She moved with an effortless grace that made him think of the way water rippled over the stones in a river bed. The longing he felt for her when she wasn't there by his side with her bright smiles and cool, calming presence was overwhelming; he felt her absence even now.

Zuko dropped his hands to his sides and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. He had to stop this before he lost his mind, or what little of it remained. No matter what his feelings for Katara, they would never be reciprocated. Even so…earlier she had gone so far as to call him handsome. Had she truly meant it? He thought she did, hoped she did, wanted to believe her. He couldn't just ask her though. No, he'd wait and let her come to him; then, and only then could he know for sure.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at camp, Katara was in something of a daze. Not long after Zuko had left the confused young woman had wandered back over to the fire and sat down in front of it to stare into the softly glowing embers. She never had asked Zuko to start it back up again, and couldn't bring herself to do it now. So she just sat there alone in the quickly darkening forest before an all but dead fire, lost in thought.

That look in Zuko's eyes confused, and elated her at the same time. When she had seen that look, something within her had seemed to flutter, to grow. Thinking back, Katara admitted that she had hoped he would kiss her. Sokka would have killed her for just thinking it, but luckily for her, neither her brother nor the avatar were anywhere nearby. But the moment was passed now, and she doubted it would arise again. The thought made her sigh a little sadly, only to shake herself. He had probably just been worked up about the way she had been running her hands over him. No doubt that would turn anyone on. That thought certainly made the young water bending master blush. She still wasn't sure what had possessed her to violate his privacy so…but Katara found that she really didn't regret it, it had been worth it, experiencing the feel of those battle hardened muscles beneath her hands, the subtle build of his lean but powerful body…the memory made Katara shiver.

Alright, that was enough of that. There was no way she could face him again that night with a straight face and not blush or act oddly. So, Katara decided it would be wisest to go to sleep now and hopefully things would have sorted themselves out by morning. So without further delay, she doused the small remains of the fire and disappeared under the low branches of the tree and lay down to sleep.

It didn't take her long to drift off into a deep sleep.

* * *

When Zuko returned to camp after finding the lanturn lit with a bright red light at the entrance to the sanctuary, he found the fire out and Katara out of sight. It didn't take him long to find her asleep under the boughs of the pine tree, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

The firebender decided that sleeping next to her as he done the previous night was out of the question. He simply couldn't trust himself, and so for Katara's sake he lay down a yard away from her to give her space, but close enough that some of the warmth that emanated from his naturally warm body might reach her. As he watched Katara sleep, Zuko found himself yearning to reach out and wrap her slender form up in his arms, to hold her against him like he had last night during the most peaceful night sleep he'd ever had. Everything just seemed…right, when she was wrapped up in his embrace.

It was with a heart full of regret that Zuko fell asleep that night, no longer smiling as he had that morning.

* * *

The next morning, an older man and two women stood on the wall of the sanctuary, gazing down at the town further down the mountain. It was lit up almost cheerfully by the rising sun, at least until the light reached the three red and black battle tanks that sat idly at the edge of town.

"And so my niece has finally caught up to us." Iroh said with a frown.

"The crown princess?" Emi asked, her arms tucked into the sleeves of her green robe.

"There has been no sign of her so far though, how can you be sure?" Eri asked, in a similar pose.

"I am sure it is her, though I suppose I could be wrong and it could just be a few troops passing through." Iroh said, though he clearly didn't believe what he was saying.

"Then we should call Katara and Zuko back now that real danger might be at hand." The sisters said in unison.

The dragon of the west nodded his grey head in agreement.

"I will go fetch them myself. There is no time to wait until nightfall now that my esteemed brother's troops have arrived." Iroh said grimly, turning from the sight of the rising sun over the city and walking away.

* * *

Ugh, once again I apologize for the lateness of this chapter! And no picture either I'm afraid. It's just been one of those weeks XP

I get out of school in two weeks though! Then I can really start writing! Oh yes, and please excuse any mistakes in this chapter, i didn't have much of a chance to review it. please forgive my laziness!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Kat A. Klysmic


	10. Genius Plans and Butterfly Kisses

Author's Note: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry this is so late! Finals and visiting relatives got in the way of my writing, but here it is at long last so, enjoy!

Oh yes, here's another picture I did just for you guys! I would reccomend not looking at it until afterwards though

**http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 34123203/**

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 10: Genius plans and butterfly kisses

The day dawned humid and overcast, hiding the sun from view. Even so, some internal clock within Zuko woke him at dawn. He lay for a moment, staring at Katara's back, debating on whether or now to wake her. In the end he decided against it and got silently to his feet and pushed his way out from under the pine branches. He stretched his arms above his head with a slight groan. Sleeping on hard ground again after a week of a nice soft bed was getting to him. He yawned broadly, hardly able to help himself. He hadn't slept well last night. What sleep he had garnered had been restless and full of tossing and turning. He had a feeling it had something to do with Katara, or lack of her, but he just couldn't bring himself to get closer to her.

Zuko massaged his temples with his index fingers, eyes closed, trying to relieve the pressure that was building up there. He froze though as he heard a sharp snap somewhere down the path that lay in front of him across the clearing. It had been too loud to have been made by something small. His hands dropped from his head and too his side. They unconsciously reached for his dual bladed swords, but they weren't there. Fire bending would be too noisy a way to attack if he was trying to be stealthy. He cursed himself for leaving his double bladed sword behind that he used mostly when disguised as the blue spirit. Well, he'd just have to do without. Avoiding the path, Zuko slipped silently into the forest to intercept whomever it was that had entered the area.

* * *

Katara woke to the sound of voices, angry ones at that. She sat up as quickly as her lethargic body would let her, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and opening them slightly, squinting against the sunlight that was pouring into the normally shady area under the boughs of the pine tree. As she listened in through the dissipating haze of sleep that hung about her mind, she recognized one of the loud, heated voices as Zuko. She'd heard him shout too many times not to recognize his voice, even though she was still practically half asleep.

"Zuko? Zuko, what's the matter?" Katara asked sleepily as she came into the clearing, brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. She paused uncertainly as she saw her older companion staring down a man with a glare that Katara was surprised didn't cause the other man to spontaneously combust. But no, the man simply stood there looking on calmly, not seeming to be bothered in the least. After a moment's careful consideration, and despite the fact that the visitor had a hood pulled up around his face, Katara realized that it was no stranger that had walked into their midst, but Iroh, Zuko's uncle.

"Iroh! What are you doing here? Has something happened?" The waterbender asked in concern, walking forward to greet the old man.

"Ah, Katara my dear, you look well." Iroh said with a smile, turning to the young woman and pulling back his hood.

"I was just informing my dear nephew of the, er, situation at hand."

"_SITUATION_!" Zuko demanded, yelling angrily as he whirled back around to face Katara and Iroh. Now that Katara thought about it, she'd really only heard one angry voice after all, Zuko's.

"Yes, situation." Iroh said calmly, stepping in-between Zuko and Katara just in case his nephew lost all control and went up in a blaze right then and there.

"No! A _situation_ would be if there actually been fire nation troops down there in town a few nights ago when you sent us up here, but…Gaah!" Zuko tilted his head back in frustration and let forth a burst of fire and steam from his mouth.

"Iroh, what is Zuko trying to say?" She asked the man before her, one eyebrow raised at Zuko's fit of rage, shielding her eyes from the light of his fire for a moment before it faded again, leaving the young firebender standing with tightly clenched fists and chest heaving.

"My uncle, and those…those meddling old women tricked us!" He said, pointing angrily at Iroh, but looked at Katara with fiercely glowing golden eyes.

"Tricked us? But why? How?" he exclaimed, hardly able to believe it. Iroh was such a nice man, why would he trick her or his nephew? There was more to this than either of the men were letting on.

"Well, the truth is, the ladies and I thought…" Iroh began

"The reason doesn't matter for now." Zuko abruptly interrupted his face paling a bit in the morning light as he fidgeted noticeably.

Katara looked at Zuko, eyebrows raised. She opened her mouth to object, but she in turn was interrupted by Iroh.

"My nephew is right; the reason doesn't matter for now."

Katara sighed and held her hands up in defeat, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get the answer out of the two firebenders, not right now anyways. "In any case I've gathered that there weren't really fire nation troops down there that night you sent us out. If that's the case, then why are you here?" The female water bender asked, placing her hands on her hips and waiting for the answer.

Zuko relaxed visibly as Katara didn't argue with him, and he in turn averted his attention from the lovely water bender and back to his uncle as the old man began to speak. The ex-prince had yet to hear his uncle's reason for being here as he had interrupted him after the old man's first explanation.

"That _was _the case." Iroh began. "But at dawn this morning the ladies and I spotted real fire nation troops down in the village with at least three of their tanks. What their purpose for being here is we do not yet know; but for now we think it would be safer for you two to return to the sanctuary." He explained, folding his arms across his wide belly and watching the pair closely for their reactions.

Katara's bright blue eyes widened in alarm at the news, one hand straying unconsciously to the pendant at her neck as though trying to draw strength from it.

Zuko's eyes narrowed as his mind began to piece things together. In his mind he had no doubt that at the head of those troops would be his own sister, Azula. The young fire bender's hands clenched into tight fists, his eyes staring unseeingly into the forest as he felt his anger build up. The avatar had been through here, so that left no doubt in his mind that his sister was now in charge of catching the boy. He couldn't compete with her; she had an army behind her to follow her every order and capture the avatar. Not, he reminded himself, that it would matter if he did as he would certainly be taken into custody along with Aang if he was foolish enough to deliver him to his father.

Zuko was suddenly startled from these dark thoughts by a gentle hand lightly resting on his arm. He looked around and his heart nearly jumped as his golden eyes met Katara's large blue ones. He saw that they were filled with concern, an emotion reflected in her soft voice.

"Zuko, are you alright?" she asked, knowing that there was something wrong with her friend. The knuckles of his calloused hands were white from clenching them so hard.

"I'm…fine." He said and looked away, his fists loosening and the color returning to them. "We should get going." He said in his rough voice and ducked under the branches of the pine tree to collect their things.

Katara watched him go, worry showing on her darkly beautiful face, surrounded as it was by loose, flowing strands of brown hair.

This exchange did not go unnoticed by Iroh, whose old, weathered face held a bright smile that neither of the younger benders seemed to notice, though he did quickly tuck it away lest they should. Upon arriving he had worried that perhaps his plan had not worked, but perhaps it had worked better than he had initially thought.

* * *

It didn't take Zuko and Katara long to collect their few possessions and hide the remains of their campfire and any other signs that showed anyone had stayed there for a few days. As they left though, neither of them could resist looking back at that place of safe haven one last time. So much had happened there, they both thought, and now they were leaving. Katara couldn't help but smile as she turned her back on the place for the last time and began their trek back to the mountain sanctuary. Zuko nodded as though in farewell and followed after.

Getting back down the mountain was an easy enough task with Iroh leading them. The younger pair hardly remembered the path, having not traveled it since their original ascent and that had been in the dark and rain. Now though the afternoon was warm and the clouds that had been present that morning were quickly clearing away, making way for rays of sun pouring through the canopy of birch and pine branches, lighting the pathways with a dappled green light with deep green shadows off to either side.

With Iroh leading the way, Katara followed along behind him, carrying her pack, and Zuko in turn following along behind her. The young waterbender could not help but be in a good mood with the weather being so lovely. For the time being Katara pushed all thoughts of the invading fire nation from the mind and concentrated on the beauty of her surroundings. She hummed an old water tribe song to herself as she stepped lightly down the path, unable to help but sway her arms and hips a bit as she moved in step with her humming.

At first Zuko did his best to ignore the song Katara was humming as he was deep in thought, but at long last he looked up, ready to snap at her to be quiet and be more serious; but instead his golden eyes were immediately captivated by the female's gracefully swaying form. The more he watched and listened, the more he came to like the song and the waterbender's graceful dance. Dappled sunlight streamed across her features, over her chestnut hair and mocha skin, lighting her sea blue eyes, and casting shadows about her striking form. He had to catch himself as he nearly started humming along. He was filled with the desire to take Katara in his arms and dance with her, dance her away into the forest where they could be alone and…Zuko shook himself then. He really couldn't be thinking about this now. For all he knew his sister was sitting at the base of the mountain at that very moment, waiting for him to show up, he didn't have time for dancing!

Katara turned slightly as she heard a sad sounding sigh from behind her. "Is something the matter Zuko?" she asked him, spinning gracefully so that she was carried to the fire bender's side.

Zuko couldn't help but watch her graceful twirl as it carried her to his side. His head snapped up and looked straight ahead though as she started speaking to him, avoiding contact with her lovely blue eyes lest he lose himself.

"Nothing." He stated simply, and didn't say a thing after that despite Katara's continual prodding all the way down the mountain.

Iroh laughed a little to himself, hardly able to keep from doing so loudly enough for the young benders to hear him as they made their way steadily down the mountain.

* * *

The trio walked back into the sanctuary, blinking owlishly after their walk through the dark tunnel. Iroh looked around and seemed puzzled by the lack of people and the all together quietness of the complex. He motioned for the pair behind him to be quiet as he led them into the main building. He made his way through the halls until he came to a door which he promptly pressed his ear against and listened.

Katara and Zuko followed, opting to remain silent as they followed the old man, each on edge and ready to fight should something prove to have gone wrong. Both of them were startled when Iroh tumbled forward as the door he had his ear pressed against was whipped open in a noisy fashion. A surprised half-scream followed it.

"Iroh!" Emi cried in surprise, stepping back from the man as he picked himself up.

"What are you doing listening at the door like that?" Eri asked, helping him to his feet.

Katara could only giggle, and Zuko rolled his eyes.

"I am sorry to have alarmed you ladies, but when I saw how everyone seemed to have disappeared, I became worried. What is going on?" The old man asked as he dusted himself off.

"This!" Emi and Eri said simultaneously as Emi thrust a roll of parchment at him. "It seems that niece of yours is a bit vainer than you told us."

"Vain?" Iroh asked, puzzled as he took the roll of paper. His golden eyes skimmed it and his eyebrows shot up in surprise as he read.

"What is it?" Katara asked curiously and came up behind Zuko's uncle and read over his shoulder.

After a moment's hesitation Zuko joined Katara and began reading over his uncle's other shoulder. This confirmed it then, his sister was definitely here.

As the pair began to read, both of their eyebrows snapped up just as Iroh's had. They looked at one another incredulously as they finished reading.

**_In honor of the birth day of crown princess Azula of the fire nation and the capture of the water bending master companion of the Avatar, a celebration will be held…_**

The notice went on to describe the date, place, time, and a rather long list of important people who were required to attend…or else. Katara barely skimmed that part as the first sentence was what confused her the most.

"What on earth is this thing talking about. I haven't been captured!" she said irately.

"Uncle! What is the meaning of this?" Zuko demanded, hoping his uncle would have some clue as to what the madness on the piece of paper meant. Unless the Avatar had found a new waterbender to travel with, the firebender had an inkling that there was something else going on here.

Iroh frowned as he thought. "Well, after the Avatar and Katara's brother left, they must have been spotted without her." He said, looking over at the waterbender, who had paled considerably. She opened her mouth to speak, but Iroh held up a hand to stop her.

"No, I don't think Aang or your brother have been captured. If they had it'd be talking about them rather than you. Obviously my niece is trying to draw out the Avatar by making him think that she has you in her custody." He explained.

"Well then…" she began, but then suddenly paused, eyes widening. "Did you just say _niece_?" she asked. "As in that psycho is Zuko's _sister!_"

"Sadly, yes, she is." Iroh said with a shake of his head. "She's always been a little…extreme."

"If by extreme you mean a crazy psycho bitch, then yeah." Zuko growled, golden eyes glowing angrily just at the thought of his mad sister.

Katara could only stare at Zuko before shaking her head, sending her chestnut braid swaying as she sighed. "Will wonders never cease? I'm just glad you didn't turn out like her." Katara said, smiling up at Zuko.

The boy's cheeks definitely got a rosy hue as the lovely water bender smiled at him, or so Iroh thought. Things were going well indeed. But there was still this problem with Azula. Trust her to get in the way of things. Iroh didn't hear what his nephew's reply to Katara was, because at that very moment the man began to get an idea, and it made him smile.

* * *

Zuko and Katara had been dismissed from the office in which Iroh and the sister's had set up as the base of their plans, and were told to come back later that evening. As the door slammed shut in their faces, Katara and Zuko looked at each other, obviously confused.

"Well um, I'm going to go take a bath and such so…I'll see you tonight I guess." Katara said a little shyly and disappeared off down the hall before Zuko could reply.

The man watched her go, arms still folded across his broad chest; his shoulders sagged slightly as though he were exhausted. Truth be told, he was. He'd hardly slept at all the previous night, and whatever strength he had managed to save seemed to leave him as soon as she did. Barely realizing that he was even walking, Zuko made his way back to his room, nearly getting lost twice until at long last he was able to flop exhaustedly onto his bed where he fell asleep moments later.

* * *

Zuko awoke to orange rays of the dying sun pouring in through his window and landing across his lethargic form. Sunset…time to get up, the man's tired mind told him. It took him several minutes before he managed to rouse himself completely with much yawning and sleeping. Looking at where the Sun was on the horizon, Zuko made his way quickly to the bath house, and finding it empty, proceeded to bathe. He was out five minutes later feeling much more awake and dressed in clean clothes.

He jogged quickly back to the main building and through the halls. He slowed only when he came upon Katara who was going in the same direction.

"Oh, hello, Zuko." Katara said, smiling for his sake. She was feeling much better now that she was wearing clean clothes and had had a chance to bath and soak in the hot spring. She thought that Zuko looked much better too, even his scar didn't seem as bad as usual, but then again perhaps she was simply getting used to it. She could see that his hair was still wet from his bath. Seeing something on his face, Katara paused and reached up to brush something away from it.

Zuko froze in place as Katara unexpectedly reached up and brushed his temple with her thumb, his golden eyes met hers and for a moment he seemed to be teetering on the brink of a vast, endless pool of water.

"Just a stray bit of water from your hair." Katara explained as she drew her hand away again, though she did let her fingertips brush lightly against his scar as she removed her hand. She blushed slightly at her foolishness and quickly started off again.

Katara's voice seemed to break the spell she'd had Zuko under. He had to fight not to reach up and grab her hand, draw it to him and kiss her finger tips. Instead, as she walked off, he shook himself off and followed along a few steps behind her until they reached their joint destination.

* * *

It only took the young pair a moment to slip into the room quietly and settle themselves in two spare seats that had been set aside for them. The three oldsters all looked up at them as they entered.

"Well?" Zuko asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat back in his chair.

Iroh cleared his throat and said "Thank you for coming you two. After much thought and conferring, Emi, Eri, and I have taken stock of the situation and come up with what we think is an appropriate course of action."

Katara was sitting on the edge of her seat, hands clasped anxiously as she listened to what Iroh had to say. It was clear that she was worried about Aang and her brother.

"Once the Avatar sees these posters," Iroh began, holding one up for example, "I am sure that he will rush here in order to save you Katara. This is something we cannot allow to happen. So, the ladies and I have formulated a plan. You will go to Azula's party, and you will dance and have fun just like a normal well-to-do couple. However, this is merely a precaution for if Aang appears, so you _must_ keep your eyes open for him should he come to rescue you as I am sure Azula expects him too. You will be there in intercept him before he can try anything that will attract attention to him and cause him to be caught by Zuko's sister."

"Uncle, that's ridiculous." Zuko said scathingly. "There is no way that Azula would _not_ recognize me, or even Katara for that matter." He pointed out.

"Ah-hah! But that's where you're wrong!" Eri said with a comic wag of a finger. "It's a _masked_ ball!"

"But," Eri interjected, "the men chosen by Azula to dance with her are forced to remove their masks…" she said, all eyes falling on Zuko.

"So what? I'll just make sure she doesn't dance with me." Zuko said, uncomfortable under the weight of everyone's stares.

"No Zuko, that's too risky. But from the sounds of it, you would be willing to help save the Avatar?" Iroh asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zuko also seemed to be suddenly struck by what he had been saying. Help save the Avatar? The obnoxious little bald boy he'd been chasing for months on end? Sure Zuko had no further use for the boy now, but to help him…The fire bender's eyes met Katara's wide blue ones that shone with hope as well as a tinge of fear that he might not help after all.

The seconds seemed to drag on into minutes for Katara as she watched Zuko, her eyes meeting his. In his golden eyes she saw uncertainty and confusion as well as a small tinge of fear. But eventually all that seemed to melt away and simply become resolve. Katara let out a relieved breath as Zuko nodded in agreement at long last. Instinctively she reached out and clasped his hand with her much smaller one.

"Thank you Zuko." She said quietly.

When the fire bender saw the happiness and relief in his companion's eyes, he knew that he had made the right decision. He would help her if not for the Avatar's sake, then for hers, and the love he knew he felt for her. When she unexpectedly slipped her hand into his, he squeezed it gently and offered her a rare smile. It was a small one, but still genuine and filled with kindness.

Katara was nearly taken aback by Zuko's transformation when he smiled. Her mind dithered about for a moment having lost its grip on reality, but when Iroh cleared his throat, she came back down to earth and pulled her hand from his. She smiled back at him and then an idea came to her.

"I…think I might have an idea of how to keep him from being recognized." Katara began, feeling a little uneasy, but seeing everyone turn to her expectantly, the young woman forged on.

"What if I were to heal Zuko's scar?" she suggested. "Because even if Azula chose him to dance with her and he took his mask off, she may think she recognized him, but of course he could deny it all because he wouldn't have his scar. Plus if he does a little acting and disguises his voice... what is the likelihood she'd realize who he was?" The last part all came out in a rush as she clenched her hands worriedly watching Zuko for his reaction.

At first Zuko felt a familiar anger bubbling up inside him, but it was quickly quelled and replaced with indecisiveness when he looked at Katara. He could see that she only meant well, and indeed, the plan did make sense…

"That sounds like a brilliant plan." Iroh said assuredly, his appreciation for the young water bender increasing. He and Zuko would surely have not thought of it. That scar had become such a part of both their lives that it was hard to think of life without it marring his nephew's otherwise attractive face.

"I…I'll have to think about this…" Zuko said grudgingly, lips turned down in a frown that made his scar more evident than ever. Without another word he turned on heel and marched off in the opposite direction, shutting the door smartly behind him.

"Zuko I…" Katara said as she began to run after him, but was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Give him time. He will come to you when he is ready." Iroh counseled the girl with a gentle, understanding smile.

* * *

It was late and the moon was already high in the sky as Katara stood before her open window, watching it drift serenely across the night sky with blue eyes that reflected its pure white light. The waterbender found herself quite unable to sleep despite how tired she felt. She was worried about Zuko. Would he take her offer of help, or would he turn her down?

These deep, concerning thoughts were interrupted by a sudden need to use the restroom. Moving as quietly as possible the girl made her way to the bathroom, returning a few minutes later feeling physically better, but just as tormented and sleepless mentally.

As she turned down the hall and into the hall where she and Zuko's rooms were located, she paused as she saw a shadowy figure lurking outside her door. At first she didn't recognize it, and considered calling for help, until the figure noticed her standing there at the end of the hall.

"Katara?" called a rough, familiar voice.

"Zuko? What are you doing out here so late?" Katara asked in concern. As she walked forward to meet him, she clutched the thin, blue crane patterned silk robe she was wearing closer to her body. It went down to her knees and the long, white silk, sleeveless dress she wore under it made small, soft sighs with every step she took towards the exiled prince, her concern showing through her bright blue eyes.

Zuko's eyes took in the visage of sublime beauty making its way towards him, calling his name, worrying about _him_ of all people. He tore his eyes from Katara and looked anywhere else but her for a moment so that he could speak without being distracted.

"I've decided. I…want you to heal me." Zuko said rubbing one hand through his short black hair anxiously.

At these words Katara smiled up at him, catching both of his pale hands in her dark ones. She knew that it had most likely been a difficult decision for him. To get rid of something that represented so much to him... "Oh Zuko…I'm so happy." Katara whispered quietly for his ears alone. She drew him into her room and closed the door behind her.

"Here, go ahead and have a seat." She said.

Zuko nearly blushed as the woman pulled him into her bedroom. It was plain, but well kept. The state of the bed led him to believe that she'd had as little sleep as he'd had. Seeing nowhere else to sit in the room, the fire bender settled himself on the edge of the bed, nerves fairly vibrating with tension. That all seemed to melt away though as Katara returned to him, her curves shifting alluringly just out of sight beneath her silk bed clothes, she smiled demurely at him, her blush going unseen in the shadows of the room. She carried her water flask in her hands and opened the top as she sat a few feet away from Zuko on the bed. For a moment the man began to feel crestfallen at the distance she had put between them; at least until he caught the movement of her left hand clearly motioning for him to lay his head in her lap.

Katara watched as Zuko hesitated, obviously thinking about what a precarious situation this could turn into. It only lasted a moment though, and the man shifted his weight and leaned back on the bed and rested his head in her lap.

"Now just lay still and don't move." Katara murmured quietly as she formed her faintly glowing healing glove around her hand.

Zuko folded his hands across his stomach, muscles tensing as a nervous reaction to what was about to happen. But with his head pillowed in Katara's lap, it was hard to hold on to that feeling of apprehension. He closed his eyes and allowed Katara to rest one of her small, delicate hands on his gravely burned face. He sighed pleasurably as a cool, healing sensation swept through his eye and face, calming the constant burning sensation he'd felt every day for the past two years.

Katara watched and concentrated as she ran her fingers gently down the man's face and back up again. It took several minutes, much longer than usual; she credited that to the age of the wound though. She watched in amazement as with each pass of her hand a little more of the scar disappeared and soon all that was left was smooth, pale new skin.

"Zuko…" she whispered breathlessly as she stared down at his face in amazement.

The fire bender's gold eyes flickered open, unwillingly at first, but then widened in surprise. The first thing he noticed was the range of view he now had from his left eye. One hand raised itself and went to the once scarred flesh now made new and smooth, hardly able to believe it.

"Here, take a look." Katara whispered, still in shock as she handed him a small hand mirror from the bed side table.

Zuko took it and held it before his place and was taken aback by what he saw there. Where he had grown accustomed to seeing angry red flesh and a malformed eye there was now smooth pale flesh and a normal golden eye wide with surprise. Zuko closed his eyes and put the mirror aside, taking a deep, shaky breath.

Katara let him be for a moment, knowing what a change this must be for him. She began to hum quietly and running one hand comfortingly through Zuko's short black hair as she waited for him to come back to her mentally.

Katara's song and gentle touch eventually brought Zuko around again and he caught her hand in his own and held it there as he turned and sat up, now face to face with her.

"Katara, I…" Zuko looked at her, hardly able to convey his gratitude to the water bender for what she had done for him.

"It's okay, it was nothing." Katara said with a small, shy smile, her heart beginning to race with his close proximity.

"No, it wasn't nothing, it isn't. You've done so much for me…and I…" Zuko couldn't finish his sentence as his fiery golden eyes met her serene blue ones. He began to lose himself in those eyes, and unlike earlier that evening, this time he let himself be pulled in. He moved in closer and brushed a stray strand of hair from the face of the beautiful woman before him.

Katara in turn raised her own hand and cupped his now unmarred left cheek in it, but stared into his golden eyes, feeling the heat within her rise further with every passing moment that she remained in contact with those amazing amber orbs.

Suddenly, as though some inner wall had crumpled within him, Zuko leaned forward and tentatively brushed his lips against hers and pulled back to gauge Katara's reaction.

A small smile curled up the corners of Katara's lips at the sensation of Zuko's brief kiss that brushed against her lips as lightly as a butterfly's wings. Her hand slipped down to his shoulder as she smiled.

Zuko took the smile as a good sign and moved in again, this time pressing his lips more firmly against hers, though still gently, not wanting to scare her off. His hands drifted down to her hips and pulled her in closer, her soft, supple body pressing firmly up against his. He had always thought that as a water bender, her body would be as cool as her healing hands were, but the soft flesh that pressed up against his hard, muscled torso was warm to the touch and welcomed his embrace around it.

Katara's heart increased it's rate as her eyes widened a bit as Zuko's lips pressed against hers once more and pulled her against him. She let her hands move from his shoulders and down his chest, tracing the muscles that lay only a thin piece of fabric away from her questing fingers. She felt his tongue brush against her teeth, seeking entrance to her mouth, and she opened obligingly, releasing her own tongue into his. She thought he tasted smoky like a wood fire on a cold night that you just couldn't get close enough too. This was how Katara felt now as she fumbled with the front of Zuko's shirt.

Pleased that Katara trusted herself to him, Zuko deepened his kiss, the muscles of his chest tensing under the water benders touch. As she worked to remove his shirt, he pulled the robe down off her shoulders, brushing her bare flesh with his hands, her night gown was still in the way though.

As they came up for breath, Katara tugged off her robe, leaving only the thin, silky night dress, and Zuko removed his shirt before swooping back in for another passionate kiss.

Katara let out a moan of pleasure as Zuko's hand began to caress her thigh and then make its way up to her hip and under her dress. She pressed herself against him while running her hands down his back, tracing his shoulder blades and then running back up to his hair which she stroked lovingly, twining some of the longer bits around her fingers.

Zuko moved his hand up to her belly, tracing a spiral onto the soft, prone flesh he found there. He broke off their kiss and began trailing kisses down her cheek and onto her throat, causing her to sigh in pleasure.

As Zuko's lips caressed her throat, Katara took in the sight of his bare, pale flesh in the light of the moon that streamed in through her open window; from his sharp jaw line to the line of his powerful shoulders, the way the light hit his unmarred, handsome face.

As Zuko paused in his ministrations, Katara leaned forward and kissed him lightly above his left eye on the new, pale flesh and caressed his jaw with one hand, smiling.

"You're beautiful." Zuko suddenly said as though getting some weight off his chest. His face was serious, but his golden eyes shone with happiness in a way that Katara had never seen them do so before. He cupped her hand in his, halting in its tracks on his face. He drew it away and kissed her finger tips, though his golden eyes lingered on her face, a vision of heavenly beauty. Somewhere along the line her hair had come out of its braid, left to cascade freely down her back and shoulders in glossy chestnut waves. Her icy blue eyes were cast into shadow by the light of the moon, and yet seemed to glow of their own accord as they met Zuko's. He smiled against the tips of her soft fingertips as the woman blushed. She opened her mouth to say something, and Zuko waited eagerly to hear her lovely voice call his name again, but she was interrupted by a noise from outside her window which made them both jump as though they'd been hit by lightning.

Zuko leaned over some to peer out the window, eyebrows furrowed in immense displeasure at being interrupted. Katara also turned to look, but neither of them saw a thing outside besides the occasional tree.

Katara sighed and smiled ruefully at Zuko who was still holding onto her hand. She reached up and tucked a lock of her long brown hair behind one ear, blue eyes glittering in wry amusement.

Zuko couldn't help but smile back, and watched as the water bender before him struggled to stifle a yawn.

"You should get some sleep." Zuko whispered in his rough voice, slipping off the bed and standing. He looked around for his shirt and saw Katara stand and offer it to him, having obviously found it first. As he reached for the shirt, he grabbed her wrist at the same time and pulled her into a tight embrace as though he were afraid to let go, afraid that when the sun rose all of this would have been nothing but a dream.

Katara hugged him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest, reveling in the warmth of his bare skin as it pressed against her. They remained there for a time, both of them unwilling to disentangle themselves from each other after only just realizing their feelings for one another.

At long last though, Zuko released his hold on the slender water bender and stepped back, letting his hand trail along her arm, regret showing in his eyes. He wanted so much more, wanted to taste her in far more intimate ways…and yet, he couldn't, not yet, and he knew it too, in his heart.

Katara watched him disappear silently from her room, one hand clutching at her silk robe, the other resting gently on the place above her heart. She stood there for a moment, still in a euphoric state of mind before returning to her bed, regretting that she hadn't asked him to remain there with her. She felt so alone without his arms wrapped around her.

* * *

Zuko returned to his own room, feeling much the same as the woman in the neighboring room as he dropped onto his bed, still shirtless. He tugged the blankets up over him and lay there on his side, staring out the window at the moon as it made it's way slowly across the night sky. It's light reminded him of that subtle glow that was ever present in his love's eyes. His love? When had he started thinking of Katara by that name? He couldn't help but smile to himself though, despite the emptiness he felt without her there beside him. Calling her his love seemed so natural, it just…fit.

That night Zuko drifted off into a peaceful sleep, his now unmarred face hiding a secret smile that expressed the happiness he felt in his heart.

* * *

OMG guys! I'm so sorry this is so absurdly late! Finals were last week though, and this week my aunt has been in town and next week I'm in New York…argh! But it's almost over now, which is a bitter sweet thing, is it not? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! They finally kissed, huzzah! Hopefully it filled your need for fluff! Oh yes, and here's the pic again just in case you missed it the first time, expect a colored version soon!

**http/ www. deviantart. com/ view/ 34123203/**

Kat A. Klysmic


	11. They danced with wings on their feet

Authors Note: Okay, so I honestly have absolutely no good reason what-so-ever for not completing this chapter sooner ;;; I won't even begin to try and make excuses. All I'll say is that after my trip to New York, things just started rolling and haven't seemed to stop. Anyhoo, hopefully you will all enjoy this chapter! It was a little shorter than I wanted to give you guys after such a long wait...but i guess this is better than nothing, huh? XD Writing this was a lot of fun actually, and you should all shower Lady-Mage from Deviant Art with love for making me want to work on this chapter XD 3

In any case, I did another pic for you all! Keep your eyes on my DA for the colored version I hope to have done soon!

Http:// www. /deviation /43235649/

(just remove the spaces)

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 11: They danced with wings on their feet

The day dawned cool and overcast, but Zuko rose at sunrise none the less, feeling, dare he say, cheerful and refreshed. The man lay in bed a moment, stretched out on his back with his blankets somewhere down around his waist as he puzzled over this odd feeling. He _never_ woke up in a good mood. It was just one of those things that never happened, at least, not until recently. Not since coming to know Katara.

That name, it sent trills of pleasure, excitement, and a forbidden sort of happiness running up his spine. He sat up, grinning like a fool, hardly feeling like himself at all. He made his way to the night stand on the other side of the room and washed his face with the cool water in the basin he found there. His face! The previous night came flooding back into his mind like a tidal wave through a river basin. His head shot up and his golden eyes went immediately to the mirror on the wall just behind the night stand. The reflection looking back at him was still wearing that silly grin, all pale porcelain skin without an angry looking burn in sight.

Zuko couldn't help but stand there staring for a few minutes. After so many years of that burn on his face, he just looked so…different without it. At long last Zuko tore himself away from his reflection and got dressed. Something told him that today was going to be a good day.

The firebender caught Katara on her way to the bath and quite unexpectedly swept her up into his arms and spun her around, set her back down, and kissed her on the forehead before continuing on without a word, whistling cheerfully.

Katara stood there, a little dizzy as she watched the ex-prince go. She couldn't help but giggle, breaking out into a happy smile as though Zuko's unusual good mood was contagious. She had an extra bounce in her step as she headed off to the bath, feeling as though all were right in the world, if only for a moment.

XXX

Zuko came to the door of the dining room, which was halfway open, and took a deep breath, schooling his emotions into calm once more, the giddy look disappearing from his face. Under control again, Zuko opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in as nonchalantly as he usually would, as though nothing were different. Emi and Eri looked up and were about to greet him as they always did, but were stopped by the sight of his un-scarred face, unable to speak a word for the surprise of it all. He ignored their looks as though nothing at all were different, and proceeded to walk over and take his usual seat by his uncle after collecting a plate of food from one of the workers. He dug into his food with gusto, feeling hungrier than he normally did, perhaps it was some side effect of Katara's healing on him.

It was Zuko's rapidity of eating that drew Iroh's attention, having been too absorbed in his morning tea to have noticed Emi and Eri's astonished faces. Normally his nephew was not one to show such enthusiasm towards his food so early in the morning. The old man looked up at Zuko and then back down at his tea before doing a comical double-take. Rather than acting surprised though, the ex-general smiled and stroked his beard. The young waterbending lady certainly knew her element! There was not a mark left on his nephews face to show that there had once been a painful burn mark there.

"Good morning, nephew, I take it you slept well?" Iroh remarked conversationally, smiling almost slyly over his tea.

"Well enough." Zuko countered. He was almost disappointed at his uncle's lack of surprise, but didn't let it ruffle him. As he finished his breakfast, Iroh spoke again.

"Miss Katara will be taking dancing lessons for the ball in about an hours time. I trust you remember your lessons well enough not to need a refresher course?" the old man asked.

"I can dance /fine/, Uncle." Zuko retorted and got smoothly to his feet, collecting his dishes and taking them to one of the workers to be cleaned. Just as he was about to exit the room though, his uncle spoke one more time.

"Zuko, I am glad for you." he said with a warm smile for his nephew, and he wasn't talking about remembering how to dance.

The young firebender only grunted in reply, but felt a certain sort of gratitude towards his uncle under his gruff appearance. He nodded slightly and then quit the room.

XXX

An hour later, Katara had left off her light morning practice to head to the room that had been designated for her dance lesson. The young woman felt slightly nervous, afraid that she might make a fool of herself before the person that was to be her dance teacher that day. It was only three days until the date of Azula's masked ball, meaning she had only two to learn to dance well enough not to attract undue attention or ridicule while at the party. In a way she envied Zuko for his royal upbringing, at least /he/ wouldn't have to take dancing lessons with a stranger as he had probably been dancing since he was young. /She/, however, had never danced a day in her life.

She reached the room via an outside walkway, and saw Zuko in the courtyard just outside it, doing his morning exercises. She gave him a slight wave and a nervous smile before entering the room. He paused only long enough to give a nod of acknowledgment, but Katara knew better than to take offense by now, he was simply concentrating on his bending, not trying to offend her. She mused slightly that there was a time, not so long ago, that she probably /would/ have taken offense at his seeming lack of manners, but now she knew that was not the case.

Turning away from the rather tempting idea of delaying a few minutes to watch the handsome young man practice, Katara took a deep breath and then opened the door to the room and stepped in. It was the largest one she had been in yet here in The Sanctuary. It had no soaring ceiling, or decorated walls though; it was a simple room with a great deal of floor space. She didn't think such a large room must be used often, as it was not even furnished but for a few chairs along the walls and a small table.

"Ah, there you are, Miss Katara." came Iroh's familiar voice from the far end of the room off to her right. A young man that she did not recognize was standing there with him. She looked to be about her age, though younger than Zuko. He had short brown hair that curled about his face and lively green eyes that distinguished most people of the Earth Kingdom. He was slight of build, and didn't look particularly strong. He did, however, look very self confident and had a certain grace about him, even as he stood there, feet planted firmly on the wood floor. He smiled at her, and Katara couldn't help but smile back. He had one of those smiles that seemed almost contagious, lighting up even the darkest, dreariest rooms.

"Katara, this will be your dance teacher, Li. Li has been staying here with our delightful hostesses for some time now, and was happy to offer his services as he is a great proficient in dance." Iroh explained cheerfully. "I would teach you myself, but I am afraid I am not so light of foot as I was in my youth, nor have I even had a chance to dance in many a year now." The man said with a laugh as he patted his rotund belly.

"I am glad to offer my services to such a lovely lady." Li said with a graceful bow from the waist and then said "Now, shall we begin?"

XXX

Zuko had tried to practice, oh yes, he'd tried so hard to ignore the fact that Katara was in the room just to his left dancing...with another man. After nearly burning himself twice in a row, Zuko finally gave up and moved silently over towards the door. He crouched slightly and pressed an ear to the wood planking of the door, trying to make out what was going on in the room beyond. Laughing? She was laughing?! Several angry thoughts came into his mind at what he'd like to do to her dance partner came to mind as he peered through the slight crack between the door and it's frame. He couldn't make out much, but what he did see discouraged him from peeking in through the window just above and to the left of his head. His uncle was standing straight across from the door with a perfect view through just that window. However, there was a window on the other side of the room...

Unable to resist the temptation, Zuko crouched down and ran under the window and circled around to the other side of the building to the other window directly across where he'd just been. Sitting beneath the window out of sight, Zuko closed his eyes and opened his ears. He could hear quick footsteps and simple music from a single stringed instrument, no doubt it was his uncle playing. The old man had always been proficient with stringed instruments, something he'd proved weekly during music night on the ship while they'd been traveling. The man shook his head and brought himself back to the present. He listened further, able to hear a young mans voice speaking, and Katara's voice replying. He couldn't make out quite what they were saying, but there was the occasional burst of laughter that filtered through the window above his head, noting that the pair seemed to be getting on well enough.

Zuko frowned further, temper simmering at the idea of his Katara in the arms of some other man...Finally the dark haired man could take it no longer and he shifted up just enough to peer quickly in through the window, ducking back down before the dancers could move back towards him and catch sight of the firebender peeking in at their lesson. He doubted he'd ever live it down from his uncle were he to be discovered.

It was as he had feared, from his quick glimpse into the room Zuko had seen Katara wrapped up in another man's (an unfortunately good looking man's) arms, smiling as he swept her gracefully about the room. He had also noted that she seemed to have taken to dancing like a turtle-duck to water. And did he call that dancing? Pathetic! Zuko could out-dance that pathetic little peasant any time!

The firebender's thoughts rambled on like that for some time before he suddenly got fed up and lunged to his feet, marching around the building again, and then flung the door open with a snap.

XXX

Katara was smiling happily as she was swept around the room once more by the graceful Li. This dance was quick and exhilarating with enough spins and dips to nearly make her dizzy. She was breathless but smiling, as Li whipped her out from against his body, making her spin gracefully out across the floor. She was alone at this point, eyes closed and body performing the smooth twirl and sweep of her arms that Li had taught her before she spun back in, one hand outstretched for her partner to catch.

The hand that caught hers though was not the same as the one that had released her. It was larger and more calloused, but had a familiar feel. It brought her back in with a gentle pull that made her spin once before one hand instinctively went to his, interweaving her fingers and her partners, and the other went to her skirt, holding it up as delicately as though it were the finest silk. His hand closed about her, and the other went to her waist, pulling her in against his bare chest.

Katara's eyes flew open as their bodies contacted, surprised, and yet somehow not, as she was met with Zuko's steady golden gaze. She said nothing, only smiled, and she swore she saw the edge of his lips turn up in the slightest of smiles before they both turned their attention to the dance. She hadn't heard him open he door, nor had she noticed him march in and shove her partner with a deft movement that had fairly sent Li flying. Now though, Zuko guided Katara around the room in the sweeping steps of the dance as Iroh looked on, still playing. The old man was smiling in bemusement, chuckling to himself at his nephews actions. He felt a little sorry for Li, but didn't want to stop the dance of the young couple to console the rejected young man. He seemed to be unharmed in any case, so Iroh played on.

Completely oblivious to all around them, Zuko and Katara moved in unison, each seemingly able to read what the other was about to do and complied with their own actions, bodies moving as though one. The couple spun and dipped, reeled and leapt together, feet scarcely seeming to touch the floor, both of them feeling as though they had long since left the earth to be caught up in flight, dancing as though with wings on their feet.

Too soon, though, the song came to an end, the last few notes echoing across the room as Zuko and Katara came to a stop at long last, both breathing hard but feeling exhilarated. For a time, all the pair could do was try to catch their breath, eyes locked on one another, arms still poised as though ready to dance once more. Eventually though, Zuko let his arms drop away from Katara's lithe body, though a little reluctantly. He did, however, catch her hand in his before saying "And /that/, is how you dance." He pressed his lips gently to her hand and then was out the door as quickly as he had come in, leaving a breathless and surprised young woman in his wake.

XXX

I did another pic for you all! Keep your eyes on my DA for the colored version I hope to have done soon!

Http:// www. /deviation /43235649/

(just remove the spaces)

Alright, I promise that next chapter will actually get the ball rolling on the plot once more! There's probably only about two more chapters left after this one, so enjoy!

Okay, so I honestly have absolutely no good reason what-so-ever for not completing this chapter sooner ;;; I won't even begin to try and make excuses. All I'll say is that after my trip to New York, things just started rolling and haven't seemed to stop. Anyhoo, hopefully you will all enjoy this chapter! It was a little shorter than I wanted to give you guys after such a long wait...but i guess this is better than nothing, huh? XD Writing this was a lot of fun actually, and you should all shower Lady-Mage from Deviant Art with love for making me want to work on this chapter XD 3


	12. The Dance

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

**Authors Note: **Well, I'm just not even going to try and make an excuse for why it's taken nearly a year for me to update this fanfic...I'll blame it on lack of Avatar inspiration...yeah yeah...but now! Now the new season has started! So maybe I'll actually be able to finish it soon, lol.

Anyways, I've done a quickie reference picture for Katara's hair and dress, which can be found at:  
http :// hakari-chan DOT deviantart DOT com/art/Katara-Reff-65571978 (just remove the spaces and replace DOT with an actual dot)

Chapter 12: The Dance

The two days prior to the masked ball seemed to fly by for Katara, and before she knew it, the day had arrived. Morning dawned bright and clear, promising fair weather for the evenings activities. Katara rolled out of bed as the sun rose, sending bright rays of golden light in through her open window. The young woman yawned and stretched, scratching her head sleepily. She felt both excited and fearful when she thought of what waited for her down in the village that evening. She prayed fervently to the spirits of the moon and ocean that Aang and her brother would not show up that evening, saving them all from certain strife. Something in her heart though, told her that this was not to be, giving the young water bending master the feeling that something ominous was looming over her and all of her friends, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Katara sighed and shook her head as she came back to the present, it was no time to be dwelling on what _could_ be, and what was. She rolled her shoulders and stretched a bit, feeling a little stiff from all the dancing she had been doing the past few days. She had enjoyed learning from Li though, he was such a nice man, as well as an expert dancer. The parts she had really enjoyed though was when Zuko would come in and claim a dance from her, though after finding out what he had done to Li the first time, Katara had insisted he be civil about it.

She drifted back off into dream land with a silly grin on her face as she thought back to the dances she and her golden eyed love had shared. His strong arms wrapped around her, fingers intertwined as they swooped around the room in a graceful dance, sometimes resting her head on his bare shoulder as they did...

The girl jumped almost guiltily as a sudden knock sounded on her door.

"Just a moment!" Katara called and hurriedly tugged off her sleeping clothes and slipped into her normal ones before heading over to the door, her long brown hair still loose and flowing about her face and shoulders. She opened the sliding door and was greeted by the sight of Emi and Eri standing in her doorway, smiling cheerily in a way that brought back Katara's feeling of dread.

"Hello dear." Said Emi.

"Ready to get dressed?" asked Eri.

"Dressed?" Katara asked, blinking in surprise. "But I'm already dressed." she said, looking down at her blue water tribe clothes.

"You're going to the ball in _that?!_" Cried Eri.

"Most certainly not." said Emi.

"Ah...but, I don't have anything else..." Katara said, an embarrassed blush rising in her tan cheeks.

"That's what you have _us_ for, dear." Said Eri brightly.

"Come along then, lets go get ready!" Emi said with a nod and a smile as both she and her sister reached out and each grabbed one of the water bender's wrists.

"Ah, but! So early? I-I mean, it's still morning! The ball isn't till tonight! I kinda wanted to..."

"Oh no dear, there's so much work to be done before then!" countered Eri.

"Yes, not a moment to lose!" said Emi, and the pair both dragged the reluctant Katara out of her room and led her away.

_Well, so much for going to watch Zuko practice I suppose..._ Katara mused too herself, hoping the man wouldn't get worried when she didn't show up. Ah well, there wasn't much she could do about it as it was.

XXX

Zuko had woken just before dawn, as he had been prone to doing all of his life, and gotten dressed in his usual morning practice clothes before heading down to get breakfast. He wasn't surprised to find his Uncle Iroh already there, eating his own breakfast and enjoying his first cup of tea for the day. The man _was_ surprised to see that his uncle was the only one there besides the workers though. Normally Emi and Eri were always there with him, chatting amiably and eating along side him.

"On your own today, Uncle?" Zuko asked as he collected a plate of food for himself and sat down across from the old man.

Iroh looked up and nodded, saying "Our lovely hostesses said that they had something to attend to today, so I assume we'll be on our own today until this evening."

Zuko grunted in reply and focused his attention on his food, though he wondered idly what the two old ladies could be up to so early in the day. His stomach gave a sickening roll as he thought about the evening to come though. So much of their plan relied on chance...Zuko found himself praying to Agni that the Avatar and Katara's idiot brother would be no-shows. Some inkling told him that even hoping that was a long shot though. The fire bender sighed and gave up on his food, finding that he had lost his appetite.

"I'll be out in the courtyard." Zuko said as he stood, gave his plate to a woman behind the serving window, and brushed his way out the door, closing it with a quiet snap.

The ex-prince made his way out into the courtyard, discarding his shirt on the steps and then making his way into the middle of the yard. He began his practice as usual, bursts of controlled flame bursting off in heated gouts as he moved, punching, kicking, and blocking his way through his morning exercises. A little ways in though, Zuko couldn't help but notice that Katara wasn't in her normal place on the steps. She _always_ watched his morning practices after she came back from her bath, so where was she now? He tried not to let it bother him, but found it increasingly impossible as time went on. When he nearly set fire to a nearby tree, Zuko huffed and gave up. He couldn't concentrate his blows _and_ wonder where Katara was. He'd burn the whole place down if he tried.

The fire bender walked back to the steps and collected his shirt and donned it as he walked back into the complex of buildings. Perhaps the old women could tell him where Katara had gone and wandered off to so early in the morning. The office seemed the most logical place to check first, and so he set off down the hall, pausing occasionally to peer into other rooms, hoping to find his blue eyed crush somewhere behind them.

XXX

Katara sighed as she sat perched on a tall stool, back ramrod straight as Emi and Eri fluttered about, taking measurements of her torso and arms, calling out numbers to one another. Her back was getting tired, but she didn't dare move, and so she gave another long suffering sigh.

After the elderly sisters had dragged her off from her room, they had taken her to the bath house where she had bathed, using special soaps provided by the women. The soaps smelled nicer than the normal ones supplied, and left her skin feeling soft as a silk. After that they had given her new undergarments that were less bulky than her normal ones, and then wrapped her up in a robe and led her to their office. When she asked what was wrong with her old undergarments, the women only laughed and shook their heads, saying something about them being so bulky they'd be able to see them right through her dress if she wore them. The young woman had tried not to act offended, but she couldn't help but feel a little defensive of her choice of underclothing. After all, they were practical and warm, which was what really counted back at the South Pole.

So here she was, sitting on an uncomfortable stool in the middle of Emi and Eri's office, clad in nothing more than an uncomfortably revealing set of underwear with two old women fussing over her.

XXX

Zuko finally found his way to the office, annoyed with all the searching he'd had to do to find the damn place. It was all the way over on the opposite side of the building from where he had been practicing his bending that morning, and he'd had to stop a few times to get directions.

The ex-prince could hear voices from within, and so he slid open the door without a second though and stepped in.

"Have either of you seen Ka-..." Zuko's voice cut out about then as he actually looked up and saw the woman he had been looking for sitting on a stool in the middle of the room just before him...in her underwear...

"Ah! I-Uh..." Zuko dithered, his mouth unable to form a complete sentence as he felt the blood rush to his cheeks.

Katara looked up as someone opened the door, and was surprised to see Zuko there. She was about to say hello when something rather dreadful occurred to her. Like...the fact that she was still clad in naught but a rather frilly set of new underpants.

"Aaah! Get OUT!" Katara screamed, doing her best to cover herself with her arms, though it didn't really accomplish much.

Zuko stumbled out the door backwards and fled, heart pounding. He didn't stop until he was several hallways away.

XXX

"Spirits above, why didn't you guys lock the door?!" Katara demanded as Zuko beat a hasty (and somewhat comical) retreat. The water bender jumped up and closed the door, locking it this time so that something similar wouldn't happen again. Her two elder companions were too busy hooting with laughter to answer her though. The sisters were doubled over, cackling until Katara was sure their old lungs would burst and they could laugh no more.

"Did you _see_ the look on his face?!" Eri crowed.

"Classic!" laughed Emi.

"I don't think it was very funny at all!" Katara said with a frown as she sat back down on the stool, feeling a little guilty at her rather noisy reaction to Zuko's sudden appearance. Maybe she had overreacted just a little.

"Oh can we just get this over with!" Katara said, tiring of the old ladies laughter at her and Zuko's expense, and her face still a bright shade of red.

"Alright, alright dear." Emi said, wiping tears of laughter from her wrinkled face as she and her sister set back to work, cackling on occasion.

XXX

Zuko was standing with his back pressed to the wall in a distant hallway, he wasn't sure where exactly, trying to catch his breath. It had come rather as a shock, walking in on Katara like that, and then she'd screamed at him. Agni, she probably thought he was some kind of perve now!

The man groaned and fitfully ran a calloused hand through his hair and then down his face. Well, he'd just have to apologize to her later, it had been an honest mistake after all...but boy had she looked good...He almost started blushing again just thinking about the quick glance he'd gotten of Katara, but was distracted from further thought by his uncle, who was coming up the hall to meet him.

"Ah, there you are Zuko, what are you doing way back here on your own?" The old man asked, his arms wrapped up in his long, full sleeves.

"Oh, I just...got turned around is all." Zuko lied, trying to reign in the raging blush that had flared up across his face.

"Well, it's about time for you to go get bathed and dressed anyways before the party starts."

"Ah, right...of course." Zuko said, standing and beginning to walk away before his Uncle could ask him any uncomfortable questions.

It was some hours later and the sun was beginning to set, it's vivid orange and red light reflecting in the golden eyes of the young fire bender who stood on the terrace, watching its descent. Zuko stood there, arms folded behind his back, stance sure and steady as he waited for his partner to arrive. A cool evening breeze ruffled his newly trimmed black hair and made his new clothes flutter slightly. He was clad in dark brown wrap around with short sleeves that left his muscular arms bare, except for the pair of leather wrist gauntlets with gold detailing he wore. The wrap was made of silk and had subtle gold lining. Under it he wore a lighter shirt with a high collar and no sleeves, as well as a pair of dark pants and shoes. His outfit was simple, yet elegant, showing off the lines of his well formed body, despite the looseness of the material.

The fire bender looked over as his uncle came up beside him with a warm smile on his weathered face.

"What a lovely evening." The old man said thoughtfully, arms tucked into his sleeves and folded as he usually did.

Zuko only frowned slightly though and said "How can you say that, Uncle? We're about to go marching off into what could be a trap and all you can say is that the evening is..."

The sound of the sliding door that led onto the terrace opening made Zuko look up, and what he saw stopped him mid-sentence. Katara stepped out into the light of the setting sun, and Zuko felt more dazzled by her beauty than the vibrant light of the setting sun that shone upon them both.

"...lovely." Zuko murmured, making his uncle smile brightly, though he didn't notice. All he saw was Katara.

Her hair was pulled up in traditional earth kingdom style bun with two golden ornaments, though little pieces of her hair had been left to fall about her face in delicate little curls, accentuating the softness of her face. Her usual hair loops were absent (Emi and Eri had insisted on that), but the new style more than made up for it. Her dress was dark green in color, it went down to her ankles, but had short sleeves. As the woman moved closer, he noticed that the dark silk was actually subtly patterned with flowers and spotted spirals. The lining was a pale yellow, and folded across her chest and down her sides to the fascinatingly high slit on the right side of the gown. (think a long, chinese style dress with a high slit)

"Zuko, you...you look really handsome." Katara stammered slightly as she stopped before him, flushing slightly, her bright blue eyes shining in her lovely dark face as she looked up at him.

"You...er...you're...you'rebeautifulKatara."Zuko replied, managing to fumble his words even worse than she had. His hand went to his head and ruffled his previously neat haircut in his embarrassment and frustration.

The dark haired prince's temper was mollified though when she smiled up at him, eyes shining with what Zuko hoped was something along the lines of love. Not able to find his words, Zuko held out his arm to Katara, and she took it in hers, still smiling. Oh how he loved that smile...the way her soft lips curved, making him want to kiss her every time she did.

"If you two are finished gawking at one another," Emi started with a knowing grin.

"We'll go ahead and open the gate for you." Eri finished, her expression mirroring her sisters.

Zuko stiffened, frowning at the two old women, but they only laughed it off and with a simple gesture, the rock wall before them fell away.

"You two be careful. No doing anything careless. If you can, intercept the Avatar before he can make a scene and the Princess can sink her claws into him." Iroh warned, looking worried for the first time. Zuko tried to think of something to say, but before he could, Katara surprised him by releasing his arm and going to his uncle to hug him.

Iroh himself seemed surprised at first, but quickly responded by wrapping her up in a warm hug.

"We'll be fine, I promise." Katara said quietly, pulling away to look the old man in the eye. "And thank you...for everything." She said, not just to Iroh, but to the two old women as well.

Iroh could only nod and shooed the pair out the gate again. "Take care, and have a dance for me, will you?" he said with a smile, even as Emi and Eri closed the gate once more, separating uncle and nephew from each others site.

XXX

As the gate closed almost ominously behind them, Katara took a deep breath, trying to calm her revolting stomach. She was both looking forward to, and dreading this evening. She wondered if Zuko felt the same. It was impossible to tell though, as she took a peek up at his face. He looked calm and serious, like he always had in the old days, though less angry. That was a plus at least.

Zuko must have felt her looking at him, because he looked down at her and said "Lets go." squeezing her hand gently as he did.

Katara could only nod, and the pair took off through the forest towards the town, intersecting a path halfway there. When they were within sight of the village, they both pulled on their masks. Katara's was dark green, like her dress, with simple beading to accent it. Hers covered her entire face to help hide the fact that she had unusually dark skin for a supposed earth kingdom citizen. Zuko's was simple and black, covering only half of his face, leaving his strong jawline exposed, not that Katara minded. Both had decided on simple masks, not wanting to attract too much attention, preferring to blend in with the crowd.

As the entered the town, Katara felt the number of butterflies in her stomach increase ten-fold. She was looking around constantly, hoping to catch some sight of Aang or her brother, to the point it surely looked like she had a nervous twitch.

Zuko squeezed her hand again and leaned over to whisper in her ear "Calm down, you'll attract attention if you keep twitching like that. Just take a deep breath."

Katara flushed slightly under her mask as Zukos lips fluttered against the curve of her ear, his low voice a pleasant rumble that did more to calm her than the deep breath that she took at his advice. She looked back up at him when she had gotten control of herself once more, and was rewarded with Zuko's lips curving up ever-so-slightly in a tiny smile as he nodded in approval at her, making her smile in return, though she soon realized that he couldn't see it.

As the couple entered the central square of the town, she looked around curiously. There was a large, bubbling fountain in the center, and the whole square was draped with paper lanterns, cloaking the scene in a warm, golden light. There was a platform with three seats off to one side, no doubt for the birthday girl and a few companions.

There was already quite a crowd there, and a few couples were even dancing as the musicians played an upbeat tune on several different instruments.

Katara stood on tip-toe to whisper in Zuko's ear "Lets go dance. I'm to nervous to be able to just stand around and wait."

Her companion nodded in agreement and lead her to the dance floor, and they quickly fell into step with the other dancers. Despite her nervousness, Katara felt the thrill of dancing in a group of people, moving effortlessly around other couples, never colliding, moving in perfect unison... it was even better than dancing alone. Excited now, Katara began to dance with increased enthusiasm. Even if everything went to hell in a hand basket later, she wanted to have at least one good memory of the evening.

XXX

Katara's sudden enthusiasm caught Zuko by surprise, as he had been trying to listen to the couples around them (though they had mostly been making small talk), but he quickly picked up his pace to match hers, and swept her around the floor, gracefully moving around the other couples. He looked down at her and even though he couldn't see past her mask, he knew that she was smiling by the shining of her sea blue eyes. He felt a warm feeling spreading through him, knowing that her smile was for him, and only him. His heart thudded in his chest as she laid her head against his chest as the song slowed down, and so did their steps. The former prince found himself wishing whole heartedly that this was a normal dance party, not his treacherous sister's birthday party. He wished that they weren't just there to prevent a disaster from occurring, and that they didn't have to be there in disguise.

But they were at his sister's party, they were there to save the Avatar, and they were there in disguise. Zuko realized that there was nothing he could do about this, and so he took advantage of what was to be their one quiet moment of the evening, and lost himself in the dance, and in Katara's embrace. If only for the moment.

XXX

When the music stopped, Zuko looked up and around, as did Katara, looking for the reason the music had ceased, and dreading what it meant.

Sure enough, the young firebender looked around and fought a grimace as he saw his hateful sister mount the stage and look out at the crowd. Her familiar, haughty smirk grated on his nerves even when it wasn't directed at him. When he managed to tear his eyes away from the object of his loathing, Zuko was surprised to see that he actually recognized Azula's two companions, Mai and Tai Lee. They were no friends of his though, and he'd had the sneaking suspicion that Mai had had a crush on him when he'd still lived in the fire nation, a thought that made him shudder now.

He watched as his sister opened her mouth to begin her opening speech, only to be interrupted by a shout from behind the crowd.

"Azula!" Shouted a familiar voice.

The entire crowd, his sister and her friends included, turned to look for the source, all muttering in confusion.

"Well, hello, Avatar. I'm so glad that you could join us for my little birthday celebration." Azula drawled, grinning victoriously as she spoke.

Zuko winced as Katara's grip abruptly tightened on his hand, possibly cutting off any blood circulation to his fingers as they both spotted Aang's familiar form standing on a nearby roof top, back lit by the light of the full moon.

"I've come for Katara."

XXX

Well, I'm just not even going to try and make an excuse for why it's taken nearly a year for me to update this fanfic...I'll blame it on lack of Avatar inspiration...yeah yeah...but now! Now the new season has started! So maybe I'll actually be able to finish it soon, lol.

Anyways, I've done a quickie reference picture for Katara's hair and dress, which can be found at:  
http :// hakari-chan DOT deviantart DOT com/art/Katara-Reff-65571978 (just remove the spaces and replace DOT with an actual dot)


	13. Battle of Fire and Water

**Authors note:** Wow! Two chapters in as many days?! What a shock! Lol, so yeah, probably only a chapter or two left from here, depending on how it unfolds as I write it, and I apologize if this chapter isn't as long as you'd like, but it seemed like a good place to stop. ;D Do please read and review because it honestly does help me write faster when I get lots of positive feed back. What can I say, comments inspire me!

Also, if anyone is interested, I'm working on re-doing the cover page for this fic, which can be found here: http// hakari-chan DOT deviantart DOT com/ art/ Zuko-and-Katara-Revisited -65664052  
there's a link to the original in the artists comments.

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 13: Battle of Fire and Water

"I've come for Katara." Aang called out across the hushed crowd of spectators, every person in the crowd had their eyes riveted on the young avatar.

"What a shame, because It just so happens I don't have her." Azula drawled.

"What? What do you mean you don't have her?! The posters…"

The Fire Nation princess let out a cold, harsh laugh, something that sent shivers up everyone's spine, even her two companions. "What a little fool! It was a trap, don't you get it? And now, I've got you right where I want you." Azula's cold golden eyes flashed and she made a waving motion with one hand.

At the motion, the avatar was surrounded on the rooftop by fire nation soldiers, who had been slipping closer to the avatar through the shadows ever since he had first appeared.

Taken by surprise, Aang let out a startled yell and leapt from the roof and into the increasingly frightened crowd, only just avoiding a fiery blast from one of the more confident soldiers.

"No! Aang!" Katara yelled, and before Zuko could stop her, she had pulled away from him and was shoving her way through the panicked crowd towards her young friend.

Aang was already fighting off the soldiers that had rushed out from between the houses, swarming out of the narrow shadows like ants from an anthill.

Aang looked around desperately as he heard someone from the crowd shout his name, and was surprised when a well dressed, masked young woman shoved her way towards him. He briefly wondered who she was even as he knocked a soldier off his feet with a quick blast of air, but his eyes glowed with hope when he saw that familiar sway of arms, and graceful form, even as the water from the fountain erupted forth, blasting away half the men surrounding him.

"Katara! You're okay!" Aang shouted joyfully, rushing towards her and wrapping his arms around her. "Sokka! Sokka she's okay!" the relieved teen shouted as Katara's brother came into view from one of the alleys, knocking fire nation heads as he went.

"Sis!" the water tribe warrior called, running towards the pair, pausing only to club a fire nation soldier twice in rapid succession, once on the shoulder and then the head, knocking the man out despite the helmet.

* * *

Zuko, with a crowd still between him and Katara's group, decided they looked like they were doing fine, and turned towards his sister, just in time to see her signal Mai and Tai Lee to go join the fight against the avatar and his two companions.

The two girls leapt from the stage and began weaving through the rapidly fleeing crowd of reluctant party-goers, only to be intercepted by the still-masked Zuko.

"Out of the way." Mai said in her usual monotone, though her grey eyes flashed as she reached into her sleeves and threw several small, thin knives at Zuko, who neatly dodged them.

"Ooh, you're pretty good, cutie. But why don't you take off that mask?", the ever flirtatious Tai Lee said as she cartwheeled forward and began throwing punches that could disable Zuko faster than he could say 'Circus Freak'.

Unlike most people the young acrobat fought, though, Zuko was familiar with her fighting style and knew better than to let a single punch land, lest he lose all motor function. They fought hand to hand, Zuko keeping an even pace with the girl's punches, blocking as quickly as she could punch, much to Tai Lee's frustration. As the two were fighting though, Mai circled around, heading straight for the Avatar's group and the struggling group of soldiers.

It took Zuko a moment to notice, but when he did, he cursed. Mai was nearly on the group, sneaking up behind Katara's exposed back, knives at the ready. He hadn't wanted to use his firebending, and he knew it would cost him in his fight with Tai Lee, but he couldn't let Mai get Katara. No, he _wouldn't _let Mai get Katara. Zuko could feel his anger building up in him at the thought, it burned white hot in his chest and he let it erupt forth more violently than he ever had before.

"Stay away from her!" He roared, turning his back to Tai Lee and punched towards Mai's slinking form, fire shooting forth in a blinding blast of blue, super heated flame, something he had never managed until now. His eyes were half blinded with the surprising brightness of his own fire, but he heard Mai scream, and knew he had struck true. Just as he was about to run forward though, a fist connected with a delicate nerve bunch in his back and he went down with an agonized shout, legs crumpling beneath him.

"Dammit!" He cursed, looking around to see Tai Lee sprint past him, tears in her eyes as she hurried to Mai's collapsed form. Zuko struggled to get up, but found he was unable to move the lower half of his body, no doubt the effect of Tai Lee's punch.

Unseen to the dark haired man though, Azula was marching up behind him, eyes blazing golden fury that her plan was rapidly failing. Her soldiers were falling like dominos before the wrath of the Avatar and the water peasants, and now this unknown fire nation man betrayed his own nation by striking out against a fellow countryman, saving that troublesome water bender. And his fire, it was blue, like hers. Only benders of the highest caliber were able to conjure the blue flame, who was this man? How _dare_ he!

Zuko grunted in pain as a sharp toed boot came out of nowhere and kicked him in the shoulder, the force of the blow rolling him onto his back. Before he even had a chance to register who had hit him while he was down, a hand shot down and snatched the mask from his face. It was then that he saw that it was his own sister, Azula, standing over him, her booted foot pressing down painfully on his shoulder, staring down at him angrily, confusion flickering in her eyes.

"…Zuko?" She said finally, her voice belying the shock she felt. Her brother was the one beneath her boot in the middle of the square. Not that that particularly surprised her, she'd always known he was a traitor. No, it was the fact that her brother was under her boot in the middle of an earth kingdom town square, glaring up at her with a viciously angry look on his _scarless_ face.

"Surprised?" He snarled, and in a flash his arms came up and grabbed his sister's foot, twisting it as hard as he could, sending her flying sideways off of him. His legs may not have worked at that moment, but in her haste, Tai Lee had forgotten his arms.

"Augh! Traitorous wretch!" Azula growled. She caught herself before falling, but was now clearly favoring one ankle.

"That's the last time you'll ever betray someone of the fire nation, you nationless piece of trash." Azula said, taking that dreadful, all too familiar stance, her arms swaying in deadly arcs, lightning gathering at her fingertips, ready to strike her former brother, who could only look on in horror as he lay defenseless on his back before his executioner.

* * *

Katara was rapidly knocking back firenation soldiers right and left with her bending. The water moved in a deadly, graceful arc around her form, sharp as a blade one moment, blunt as a club the next. The full moon acted as her ally tonight, enhancing her already masterful bending to something even more.

When she heard someone coming up behind her, she was just turning to look, only to see a pale skinned, dark haired woman baring down on her with twin knives. Katara moved her arms, changed her stance, willed the water to move, move _faster_, to block this cold and emotionless woman's deadly knives…but she knew she was too late, she was too close, too little time for her to move…well, at least she would go down fighting. She only wished she could see Zuko one more time. She regretted running off without him now.

But just as all seemed lost for the young water bending master, there was a shout from a familiar voice, a brilliant, blinding flash of blue, and a scream from the killer before Katara. Mai's face was warped from cold and emotionless to a look of sheer agony.

Katara wasn't sure what had just happened, but she thanked the spirits it had. She only had a split second to think this though, as her would-be killer was propelled forward by the blast into her prey, and the two young women were sent rolling across the courtyard in a whirl of green, black, red, and brown.

The water tribe woman scrabbled hurriedly to her feet, no worse for wear than a few bumps and scrapes, though she couldn't say the same about her attacker. Katara's hair had been knocked loose from its bindings, and flared out around her as a flash of blue-white light caught the corner of her eyes.

An unfamiliar woman was standing over a prone Zuko, lightning building at her fingertips, a move Katara recognized from Iroh's stories as one of the most deadly attacks in fire bending. The family resemblance was unmistakable, and in that second, Katara knew that Zuko was about to be killed by his own sister.

Katara's body was acting on instinct before she even had a chance to actually think about it. The waterbender made a sharp, almost yanking motion with her arms and water exploded forth from the fountain nearby, shattering the artisticly shaped stone fixture with its force. Katara shifted her stance and pulled again, this time her arms swinging more smoothly, the water circling around her once, before she stepped forward and thrust them out and forward as hard and fast as she could manage, willing the water to go fast, _faster _to save the man she loved from certain death at his sister's hand.

"Get off of him, witch!" Katara shouted with all her might, using the force of her rage to propel the water towards Azula.

The Fire Nation Princess was taken completely by surprise, and was sent flying through the air and water with bone shattering force, and sent rolling across the square, still somehow managing to land in a crouch, one long nailed hand scraping the ground to bring her to a halt before she could smash into a building.

Katara was already running forward though, bending more water to her will as she went, and the two women collided head on, blue fire and water sizzling and hissing as they connected.

* * *

Zuko was in minor shock as his sister was blasted off of him by a wave of water just as she was about to deliver the death blow. He was soaked by the contact, and could only watch in surprise as Katara dashed past him, her eyes blazing blue fury.

As Zuko was struggling to get up, Aang and Sokka came up behind him, staring open mouth as Katara and Azula went at it, neither of the women seeming to gain any ground and matched one another move for move, their fighting sending up great gouts of steam as water and fire collided.

"Don't just stand there, fools! Help me up!" Zuko growled up at the two younger boys, who blinked down at him in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?" Sokka demanded.

Not surprisingly, it was Aang who caught on first. "Zuko! Come on Sokka, help me get him up! I think that crazy circus girl did something to his legs…"

As Aang struggled to help the larger man up, Sokka could only stand and stare down at the struggling pair, mouth gaping. What in the name of the moon and ocean had his sister _done_ while he was gone?! He was brought back to earth by Aang kicking him in the rear though, and between them, they managed to get the surprisingly scarless fire bender to his feet, though he was forced to lean on them to keep standing, his legs still not quite strong enough to let him stand on his own.

Eventually though, the fight between the two women wound down, both left panting and hardly able to lift their arms, though both were still glaring death at each other. Both were covered in minor burn marks, though whether they were from fire or boiling water, it was hard to tell. Azula looked around, analyzing her situation and finally raised her arms in defeat, seeing that not only her brother, but the Avatar and the water tribe warrior were coming up behind the water bender she'd been fighting.

"Alright, alright. I know when I'm beat…for now. This isn't over." The princess growled. As the four began to circle her, she used the last bit of her energy and erupted in a vibrant blast of white hot heat and light, blinding her enemies. When their eyes cleared, Azula was gone.

* * *

**Authors note:** Wow! Two chapters in as many days?! What a shock! Lol, so yeah, probably only a chapter or two left from here, depending on how it unfolds as I write it. Do please read and review because it honestly does help me write faster when I get lots of positive feed back. What can I say, comments inspire me!

Also, if anyone is interested, I'm working on re-doing the cover page for this fic, which can be found here: http// hakari-chan DOT deviantart DOT com/ art/ Zuko-and-Katara-Revisited -65664052  
there's a link to the original in the artists comments.


	14. Aftermath

Got Your Heart in a Headlock

Chapter 14: Aftermath

AN: A short chapter, I'm sorry! It's been so long since I updated...heh heh...Aaaaanyhoo, I figure some chapter is better than no chapter, lol, so enjoy! Also, I didn't get to edit all this before I went to bed so please forgive any errors!

XXX

Katara threw an arm up to cover her eyes as a sudden fire blazed up around the defeated Fire Nation princess, masking her escape. As the light faded, the water bender could have cursed in frustration when she realized that Azula had made good on her enemies momentary blindness to flee. Katara wasn't sure what she would have done to Zuko's sister if she had stuck around long enough. Perhaps it was better that she hadn't, now there wasn't anything to tempt Katara into releasing the pent up anger she was still feeling at Azula's attack on the defenseless Zuko.

Katara nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand gently brushed her arm, a low voice in her ear murmuring "You're shaking. Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine." Katara said, blinking as she turned to Zuko, who had come up behind her while she had been distracted, "I'm just...tired is all." It was true, moving so much water so fast and so far had tired the water bender more than she had realized. Looking at Zuko, though, she realized he must be much worse. He was no longer supported by Aang and Sokka, but he was paler than usual, and there was pain behind his golden eyes. "You should sit down. What did she do to you?"

Zuko allowed himself to be dragged over to some seats that had been set up around the edges of the dancing area. "I'm fine, it was Tai Lee, she used pressure points to keep my legs from working." He watched as worry flashed through those glorious blue eyes and he felt compelled to reassure her further. "Don't worry, its temporary. I'll be fine soon."

A small smile formed at the corners of the Water Tribe girl's lips and Zuko felt a little thrill run through his body as Katara's dark hand brushed gently against his own. They were both distracted though, when Sokka finally spoke up.

"Yo! Earth to love birds, but I think we've got more important things to worry about here!" Sokka pointed out sarcastically, though his stomach had dropped sickeningly as he had watched the two benders together. The way Zuko had been first to comfort his sister, how she had smiled so gently to him...something big was going on here, and the water tribe warrior was going to find out what it was if it killed him. If that Fire Nation filth had touched his baby sister...Sokka forced himself to calm down, there were other things to worry about, like the fleeing fire nation soldiers. "What are we supposed to do with them?" he demanded, motioning widely to what remained of Azula's men.

"Just let them go." Aang said, though his voice was strained. No one seemed to notice though. "They won't do anything without their commander. We'll just have to get out of here before they can regroup." The Avatar barely even heard himself speaking, though everyone seemed to agree with him. He felt ill, watching Katara minister to Zuko, she'd barely even looked at him. She'd barely even raised an objected at her brother's 'lovebird' comment. What was going on?

"Oh Aang, I'm so glad you're safe!" Aang opened his arms numbly and wrapped them around Katara as she finally left Zuko's side and embraced him. Everything was right again, she was here, with him. The Avatar buried his face into the young woman's shoulder and inhaled deeply. She was safe, Azula didn't have her, she was all his...He had just been imagining things. After all, Katara worried about everyone, that's just the way she worked. She was so kind, he loved that about her. Aang looked over Katara's shoulder at Zuko (was it really him? He looked so different without his scar.), and wondered if the older man's golden eyes didn't seem a little too piercing, what was that flash of emotion that he saw there? Had something happened between his secret crush and Zuko?

Any doubts Aang had were washed away when Katara pulled away and looked at him with her lovely blue eyes, so pure, like the waters of the spirit oasis itself. He opened his mouth to say something, anything to the woman he had grown to love since the day she had woken him from his one hundred year sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to, and so she patted him on the shoulder and moved to embrace her brother as well.

Zuko watched as Katara embraced the Avatar and smiled at him, and he felt a pang of jealousy. Sickened by the look of pure adoration that was in the other boy's eyes when he watched her, like Katara belonged him _him_. The ex-prince's hands clenched briefly into fists, but he forced himself to calm down. It was nothing, even if the Avatar _did_ have feelings for Katara, she obviously didn't return them in the same way. Even Zuko could see that the smile she gave him was one of relief, the way she wrapped him up in her embrace motherly, not romantic. Thats was Zuko kept telling himself anyway, praying that he wasn't wrong. Wasn't that the same way that his mother had always embraced him before she had vanished that dark night so many years prior? It certainly wasn't the same embrace that Katara used on him, at least. With that, Zuko had to be content. Everyone was distracted, though, when a cry came out from across the square.

XXX

The group made its way over, Sokka helping Zuko at his sister's behest. Both men did their best to ignore the other during the slow trudge over to where a small crowd had gathered. Scattered party-goers had returned and grouped around something, or someone. That someone was crying.

Katara shoved her way through the crowd, pausing in the clearing, watching a distraught Tai Lee weep over an unconscious Mai, who lay chest down on the ground, eyes closed, and back terribly burned from where Zuko had hit her.

"Oh Mai, please! Please don't leave me!" The circus performer sobbed, gently shaking Mai's shoulder as the pale girl's breathing became increasingly shallow. She looked up and gasped as she saw the water bender there, watching them. "Oh please...please help." she whispered, eyes wide and full of tears. She wasn't mean in spirit, she simply followed Azula. What choice did she have? She had been forced to come along by threats of destroying her circus, and her life with those people that she had come to love. She didn't hate Azula, couldn't hate her. They'd been together since childhood. She'd been cruel then too, of course. Mai was different though, Mai was her friend, even if they weren't anything alike, Tai Lee loved the tall pale girl. She was like a sister to her, and she felt her heart breaking as she saw her best friend's life force slowly slipping away. All those years together, watching each others backs, trying to keep Azula in control...and now they'd been abandoned by their princess. Azula had left them both to die. So much for friendship.

As Tai Lee turned her eyes to Katara, the water bender thought her heart would break with the sorrow she saw there. "I'll help, of course I'll help." She whispered, falling to her knees beside them, gathering water to her.

"Katara, wait." Zuko suddenly said, startling Katara, making her look back at him with wide, sad eyes that wrenched at his heart. "If you heal Mai, she'll only go after you again. She's cold, you can't trust her."

"You're wrong, Zuko!" Tai Lee cried, tears finally spilling down her face. "Mai isn't like that, she's my friend, and I love her. You don't know anything!" she sobbed.

"Zuko, I have to help. I can't just leave her here to die." Katara said quietly, averting her eyes from Zuko's, her brother and Aang watching silently.

Zuko closed his eyes, sighing, wondering if he would come to regret this, regret that he hadn't killed Mai with that first blow. He couldn't just let her die like this, not with Katara looking at him with those heart breaking eyes of hers. He finally opened his eyes again and said "Fine, but make her promise not to come after us again." At this point he turned his gaze to Tai Lee. "Come after us, and I swear, I won't have pity on you again."

Tai Lee nodded fiercely, more than willing. "I swear it. I won't let her come after you, we'll leave." she averted her gaze sadly. "Azula abandoned us anyways. I can't forgive her for that...not this time."

Katara gave Zuko a grateful smile and turned to her work. She tore away the back of Mai's shirt, exposing angry red flesh, badly burned, but still fresh. It should heal well if she worked quickly and didn't let it scab over yet. The water in her hands glowed with a gentle light as she pressed them to the girl's back. The light reflected in Tai Lee's eyes as they widened in surprise. She had never seen a water bender heal before.

As his friend worked, Aang began working on sending the villagers away. "Please go, there's nothing more to see here. We'll be gone as soon as she's done." It took some coaxing, but soon, they were the only ones left in the square, though he could still feel eyes on them, coming from the windows of the surrounding buildings. It made him nervous, the sooner they were out of there, the better. Even so, it warmed his heart to see Katara overcome her dislike of an enemy enough to help them. The exchange between her and Zuko still rankled him though. She hadn't even looked to Aang or Sokka for advice...

"There, she'll be fine now." Katara said, smiling at Tai Lee, who gasped as Mai began to stir, the skin on her pale back now unmarred and fully healed. The woman smiled as the circus girl nearly tackled her friend for joy as she slowly sat up, groaning as she did so. Katara stood quietly and moved away, motioning for the others to follow with a hand gesture and a quiet smile.

The three boys followed along behind Katara as the headed back to the sanctuary. Zuko brushed off Sokka's help, forcing himself to walk on his own, though his legs were killing him. He couldn't stand relying on the other man for help though, even if he was Katara's brother. The golden eyed man fell in behind Katara, Aang and Sokka side by side a few paces behind him. All four were lost in their own thoughts.

Katara felt a sense of peace, one that always descended on her after she healed someone, soothed their pain and mended their wounds. Even after all the stress and danger of the evening, she still managed to be cheerful enough to hum a quiet song as she walked along under the bright full moon, it's power filling her. It's gentle blue light filtered down through the leaves of the trees they walked beneath, casting dappled shadows over their group, and giving the water bender a great sense of security and peace. Nothing could touch her, not tonight.

Zuko forced himself to keep moving, not wanting to admit how much pain he was in. Shaking off Tai Lee's chi blocking blows was no easy task, but he marshaled his energy and trudged on. The task was made easier if he focused on Katara's gentle, lilting voice as she hummed, making him smile slightly, even through the pain.

Sokka had so many questions for his sister, and yet, as they walked along through the quiet forest, his sister's voice carried to him on the gentle evening breeze, he felt himself hesitate. There was time for questions later, and they were all tired, he could get information from Katara tomorrow. The man yawned widely, stretching his arms up as he did so, spine cracking. He had been surprised by Zuko's fight, and Sokka dreaded to even think about thanking the other man for protecting his sister from that Mai girl. Somehow, he had a feeling that the pale, raven haired woman would not have been so merciful to Katara as his sister had ended up being when she had healed the very wounds that Zuko had inflicted to save her. Sokka shook his head, feeling a headache coming on. He had a feeling that things had become very complicated in his absence.

A deep weariness had set into the Avatar's bones as they trudged up the path back to the sanctuary. He barely even noticed when Katara started humming. He smiled when he did though, she'd always had such a nice voice...He tried to dwell on those pleasant thoughts, but deep down, Aang still felt troubled, though he tried his best to ignore it. Katara had simply made the best of her situation and made friends with Zuko while her friends had been away. Surely that was it.

Aang prayed to all the spirits he could think of that it was true.


	15. The Realization

**Got Your Heart in a Headlock**

Chapter 15: The Realization

AN: So I actually had to go back and count how many days have passed in the story, took forever XD But in any case, starting with the beginning of the day in this chapter, 21 days have passed. Just for anyone who wanted to know XD

XXX

The next morning, it was Katara that woke first, much to her surprise. She made her way to the bath, taking a good soak in the wonderful hot spring. It really did do wonders for aching muscles, of which she had plenty after last night's battle. The amount of power she had summoned to save Zuko, moving such a large body of water so fast had made her pull something, or so she assumed. Instead of resolving not to do it again, though, the bending master decided it was time to step up her training. What would happen if the day came when she didn't move fast enough? Couldn't get there in time to save someone dear to hear?

As Katara dunked her head under the water, she made up her mind, she just had to train harder, the fact that she was already better than most benders many times her age made no difference at all. It wasn't about being the best, it was about protecting her loved ones. She felt ill at the thought of what might have happened if she hadn't moved quickly enough last night, what Azula would have done to Zuko...The girl resurfaced with a gasp, taking deep, steamy breaths of hot air to dispel the tightness in her stomach at the idea. She leaned her head back against the edge of the pool, closing her eyes as she did so. She couldn't think like that all the time, or she would go mad...she _had _been fast enough, and that was what really mattered.

Katara led her mind wander after that, watching little eddies of steam twirl lazily across the surface of the water through half lidded eyes. It was, perhaps, to be expected that her idle mind eventually came to dwell on Zuko. The memory of their meeting here in the bath house was immediately brought front and center, and still made her blush fiercely. He just had that effect on her, the uncontrollable attraction she felt to him physically from that moment on. More importantly, though, was the deeper attraction that had developed over time as she had spent more and more time with the man. It wasn't carnal like it had been at first. No, it had grown into something more, friendship, respect, loyalty...perhaps even love.

Blood rushed to the young womans face as she thought of this. Was it really possible? Was she in _love_ with Zuko? The man who had hunted them across the face of the globe, from one pole to another? The man who had fought her with such tenacity and power, had kidnapped her best friend...The same man who had held her so gently under the pine tree, had kissed her so tenderly, saved her from certain death...whose mere presence sent her heart fluttering, and brought a smile to her face. Katara had thought herself in love before, with Jet. In retrospect though, she realized that all it had really been was infatuation with a dashing bad boy with a nice tree house. What she had with Zuko was different. His rare smiles melted her heart, and when they danced, she thought she could just drift away on a cloud of bliss. She wished that they could.

Was it love? Perhaps. Katara's heart pounded in her chest at the mere thought. All those fights they had, the apologies, the healing of wounds both physical and mental...they added up to something very important, that much she knew. Her lips still tingled every time she thought about the kiss they'd shared in her room under the light of the moon after she had healed him. Her fingers went to her lips now, feeling the ghost of his touch now, making her smile.

Katara finally tore her mind away from such confusing thoughts, though, time for those later. If she stayed in the pool much longer, there was no telling what the heat might do to her mind. She raised her hands above the surface of the heated water and studied her fingers. They looked like stewed sea prunes. Definitely time to leave.

With some effort, Katara managed to remove herself from the lethargic bliss of the hot spring and got dressed, toweling off and drying her hair as best she could. To let it dry faster, she decided to leave it loose. If she braided it now, it would take all day to dry.

She left the bath house and made her way to the dining room. Everyone was already there and had started without her. Katara paused at the door. No, everyone _wasn't_ there. Zuko was missing from his place across from his uncle. The girl got herself a bowl of porridge and settled down in a seat to Iroh's right. She smiled at Aang where he sat across from her. He smiled back, and ended up dribbling food down his chin, making her giggle. She turned to Iroh and asked "Did Zuko already eat?"

Iroh smiled at the pretty girl next to him, though it faded as he answered her question. "I don't think so. I haven't seen him up and around yet, and I've been up since dawn. It could be that I simply missed him though."

Katara's frown of concern didn't go unnoticed by her brother, who had just finished scooping up the last spoonful of porridge into his mouth. "Eh, don't worry about sparky, I'm sure he's fine. Probably just tired." He waved his spoon nonchalantly at his sister, still not liking the way she worried over the fire bender so much.

"Yeah," Aang chipped in, eager to please and still embarrassed at having spilled food on himself just as Katara had finally been looking at him. "he seemed really tired last night when we got in. I'm sure he's Okay, Katara."

"I guess you're right." Katara said hesitantly, and then shook it off. Somehow, the looks that Aang and Sokka kept giving her every time she mentioned Zuko were making her uncomfortable. She picked up her spoon and started eating again, before a very obvious question occurred to her.

"Oh! Aang! Things have been so hectic, I completely forgot to ask! How did your search for an earth bending teacher go?" She asked, smiling brightly at the bald monk across from her.

Aang winced at the question. Well, he'd known she'd ask sooner or later. "No luck. We went to find Bumi, but..."

"But what?" Katara asked, brow furrowed in concern. Why hadn't her friend been able to find the old king? The pit of her stomach dropped out from inside her, as she expected the worst. Bumi _had_ been old when she'd met him, over one hundred years, as a matter of fact. Perhaps...

"Oh Aang, don't tell me that Bumi..."

"No!" Aang said, realizing what she had thought. "No, as far as we can tell, Bumi is fine, but he's been captured. Katara, all of Omashu is now under the control of the Fire Nation."

Katara let out a sigh of relief to know that Bumi was at least still alive, even if his entire city was now in enemy hands. She reached across the table and placed a hand over one of Aang's lighter ones. He looked so sad, she couldn't help herself. "I'm so sorry Aang, I know how close you and Bumi were. You guys weren't able to help at all?"

"We didn't get a chance too." Sokka said, inserting himself into the conversation. He scratched idly at his wolf-tail, still slightly mussed from sleep, and added "Before we could come up with anything, we saw those notices about Azula's party. We couldn't just leave you in her clutches."

"I was so worried, Katara. I have to admit, I really thought that Azula had gotten you." Aang looked up at Katara with more than just relieved gray eyes, eyes that made the water bender uncomfortable. He'd always looked at her that way, she realized, but now it only made her nervous. What had changed between them since the Avatar left her three weeks ago?

"Well you know me!" Katara said with false cheer. "As if I'd let some crazy firenation Princess capture me!" She laughed slightly, and Aang beamed.

"Well you certainly didn't have any problems letting a crazy firenation _Prince_ capture you." Sokka remarked with his usual sarcasm, making his sister choke on her mirth.

"D-don't be silly Sokka, that was ages ago!" She said, a little nervous, hoping her brother was referring to the pirate incident, and not something new. Sometimes, just sometimes, Sokka was a little too astute for his own good. "Zuko's changed a lot since then, you saw him last night. He saved my life." Before her brother or the Avatar could say anything, Katara stood and collected her bowl, only half empty, and gave it to the kitchen staff. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a walk."

"Mind if I come, Katara?" Aang asked eagerly, smiling cheerfully up at her with those hopeful eyes. Eyes that made her feel a little queasy at that moment.

"Oh...um...I think I'd better go by myself Aang. I need to go talk to our hosts about...things." She lied. "But I'll see you later! You too, Iroh. I'll tell Zuko you were looking for him, if I see him." The water bender walked out the door before the Avatar could object, praying to the moon spirit that he wouldn't follow. She needed time to think, to breathe. She felt so stifled and confused in that room with Aang. Yes, things had changed.

_What is wrong with me? _Katara asked herself, though, deep down, she already knew the answer.

XXX

Iroh had remained quiet the entire conversation, pretending to be absorbed in his morning tea to the point where he knew the younger occupants of the room had practically forgotten he was even there. Very little escaped the old generals sharp golden eyes, especially the admiring looks that the young Avatar was constantly giving Katara. The old man sighed inwardly. Things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. Last thing he had expected from his gentle directing of his nephews love life was a love triangle. Oh if only the Avatar had stayed away a few more days!

It was plain to see that Aang was in love with Katara, you would have to be blind to miss it. What interested Iroh, though, was the way that Katara acted in response to this. She was visibly uncomfortable, though she usually hid it well enough not to blatantly obvious. This gave him hope for his nephew, but made him heavyhearted when he thought of Aang. He was such a nice boy, he hated to see him have his heart broken. Yet, what could he do? It was obvious that, if they hadn't already, Zuko and Katara were quickly falling in love. He could see it in the quiet smiles that were appearing more often on his nephews face, the warmth in Katara's eyes when she looked at Zuko...oh what had he done? What would the Avatar do when he found that the object of his affections loved someone else?

Iroh was brought back to the present as Katara spoke to him before practically running for the door. He nodded appreciatively to her, and then looked over at Aang and Sokka. Aang seemed depressed, and Sokka's eyebrows both seemed like they were about to shoot up into his hair line, he had raised them so high in surprise.

_Oh dear..._Iroh thought as both boys soon followed suit and exited the room, leaving the old man by himself, with a cold cup of tea.

XXX

When Zuko woke that morning, the first thing he felt was pain. He dug his fingers into the sheets of his bed to keep from crying out, turning his head to the side to bite down on his blanket as waves of agony washed through him, centering in on his lower back. The place where Ty Lee had hit him the night previous. Forcing himself to walk home on his own last night had caught up with him. His pride had left pain to wreak havoc on his prone form now, leaving him sweating and alone in his silent room.

Zuko didn't know how much time had passed when, through his pain induced delirium, he heard the door to the room next to his open, and then slam shut. Katara's room was right next to his. Had he imagined it? Through the suffering, the thing Zuko wanted most was for his love to walk in through his door right now and find him, to heal him. He longed to feel her cool hands on his brow, her gentle hands on his body, soothing away his pain...There was no hope of that though, the man couldn't even scream now, his throat was constricted and dry. Zuko wondered if he would die there. The emptiness of death would be a welcome relief from the pain.

"Katara..." Zuko said quietly, voice hoarse, his head pressed desperately to the wall that adjoined their rooms. A moment later, he slipped into an unconsciousness haunted by nightmares.

XXX

As it happened, it _was_ Katara who had entered the room next to Zuko's. She needed to be alone, to think. Thoughts were swirling around in her head so fast that she could hardly keep track of them. Aang loved her, or thought he did. At one time, Katara had rather fancied him. He was a powerful bender, kind, funny...She had always wanted to be there for him, to protect him, take care of him. The water bender was beginning to realize, though, that these feelings weren't those of love, not a romantic love anyways. Aang was like her little brother. There had been a chance that it could have become more, but...but then there had been Zuko. He was strong, prideful, bull headed, frustrating, sexy, mysterious, gentle, kind...all of these things. And she had never felt motherly towards him. He made her feel protected, beautiful, fragile, sexy, and wanted. Like she was something desirable, something worth fighting for. Aang put her on a pedestal, to be sure...but it wasn't the same. Aang had been an infatuation, like Jet. He admired her and loved her, but part of her couldn't help but think that it was because she was the first woman his own age he'd ever really had contact with. So, he had latched onto her like a baby turtle duck, endearing, but not romantic. Zuko was something more, something deeper.

Katara threw herself onto her bed, the frame squeaking in protest, but she ignored it in her frustration. Yes, what she felt for Zuko was special, and she knew that one day, she'd have to tell him. She would have to tell Aang too, about how she really felt. She loved the boy, but she could never love him the way he wanted her too love him.

Amidst this torrent of thought, a quiet voice broke through them all.

_Katara..._

"Zuko?" she asked aloud, pressing her ear to the wall. Now that she thought about it, their beds _were_ pressed up to the same wall. What was the man still doing in bed at this time of day? His voice...something was wrong, she could feel it.

Feeling a quiet terror settle into her chest, Katara quickly rolled off the bed and grabbed her water pouch without thinking about it. She was at Zuko's door in only a few steps. She knocked, but there was no answer. Fear at what she would find on the other side made Katara's hands shake as she reached for the doorknob. She fought with it a moment before finally flinging it open.

"Zuko?" Katara asked horrified by what she saw. The man was still in bed, skin covered in a sheen of sweat, hair plastered to his forehead. He was even paler than usual, and there were deep circles under his eyes. His breathing was shallow and he let out a quiet moan of pain as she approached his bed side.

Zuko heard someone call his name, quiet footsteps approaching his bed, the gentle rustle of cloth and the shifting of the mattress told him that someone had finally found him. A cool hand brushed his fevered forehead and he turned his head to press into it. She was here, surely she had finally found him. If she hadn't, and he was still dreaming, he thanked Agni for finally granting him a respite from the nightmares. Slowly the ex-fire Prince opened his eyes and for a moment, he thought he was seeing the most glorious spirit to have ever walked the earth. Light poured in through his window, haloing a head of dark hair, and his gaze locked onto a pair of luminous blue eyes. They were filled with sadness, and Zuko wondered why. Someone so beautiful should never be so sad.

"Zuko, I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I should have come and checked on you when you didn't show up for breakfast. I shouldn't have let Sokka talk me out of it. Your uncle was worried too." Katara's brow furrowed, angry that she had let herself be distracted. She should have been here, been by his side to nurse him, keep him from the nightmares...

"It-it's alright." Zuko croaked. He wanted to say more, oh so much more, but another wave of pain wracked his body, making his love's eyes widen in alarm.

"Is it your back? Where Ty Lee hit you?" Katara asked, pulling on her business face as she bent the water from her pouch, ready to set to work. Zuko could only nod weakly, confirming her suspicion. After he had made it home last night, she had assumed that he was alright, that maybe Ty Lee hadn't hit him as hard as she had initially thought. She had been wrong though, and now here Zuko was, unable to move because of her negligence.

"I'm going to have to roll you over onto your stomach, okay? This is going to hurt, but you're going to have to bear with me."

Zuko could only nod, and prepare himself for the worst. Which ended up being a lot more painful than expected.

"I'm sorry!" Katara said as Zuko cried out, but she had gotten him to turn over, so the worst was done with. She quickly bent herself a healing glove over each hand and placed them both at the base of the man's spine, closing her eyes to help her concentrate. This time, the healing wasn't external, but deep within the muscles and nerves. Her healing was blocked at first, but Katara hadn't trained with some of the best healers in the world to let a chi block keep her from healing someone so important to her. It took time, much longer than usual but eventually she broke through, and she felt everything settle properly beneath her gently glowing hands, making her smile. It had been one of her most difficult healings. Dealing with physical injuries was a breeze when compared to dealing with things that were invisible to the human eye.

Katara opened her eyes and saw Zuko's tensed muscles finally relax, and his breathing become deeper. She smiled in relief, feeling a little tired herself. Keeping her glowing glove on, though, She ran it up and down his back, both to soothe him, and to double check that there were no other hidden blockages.

Zuko's eyes slowly fluttered open once more, and he looked back over his shoulder at Katara. He hadn't been dreaming after all, she really had come. Something deep within him stirred, making him want to reach out and wrap her up in his embrace, but his muscles were exhausted from hours of tensing and agony. He would simply have to wait. For the time being, he simply allowed himself to revel in her gentle touch. It seemed to reach down deep inside, soothing him from the inside out. It was both the strangest, and comforting thing he had ever felt.

Satisfied that she had done her work, Katara withdrew her hand, and looked up to meet Zuko's eyes. He looked exhausted, but relieved. "Feeling better?" she asked quietly.

The man nodded and started to roll himself over onto his back once more. With a little help from Katara, he managed. He lay back against his pillow, completely exhausted, but not yet ready to drift off to sleep. He turned his eyes up to Katara, watching her, his face solemn. She was so beautiful, sitting there in the afternoon sunlight that spilled across his bed. She looked tired, but happy as she watched him. He had never thought to see someone look at him that way, or in many of the ways that she had ever looked at him. Her sweet smiles, her heart breaking tears, and even her anger...they were all more precious to him than the finest gold and gems; because they were from _her_.

"Thank you." was all that he said, his pride finally shoved aside, he felt no qualms about thanking the water bender. He wondered what this meant, he had always been sparing with his thanks, even with her. Yet, now the words tumbled from his lips so easily as he met her gaze. Seeing her smile, though, made it all worth while. He would gladly thank her a thousand times to have her smile at him, to place her hand on his brow as she did now, soothing him into a peaceful slumber with a quietly sung song that he had never head before.

Katara felt something change within her then, as Zuko thanked her, his eyes steady and lucid, completely sincere. A calm settled over her previously turbulent thoughts, and all her worries seemed to vanish, replaced by an absolute certainty. She loved this man. As she watched him close his eyes, and as she began to sing, she realized this, and accepted it gratefully.

_'When the moon fell in love with the sun_

_All was golden in the sky_

_All was golden when the day met the night...'_

XXX

AN: if you're curious, the lyrics there at the end come from Panic at the Disco's "When the Day met the Night", which I think pretty much pegs Zutara, lol! Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated, and help me write faster!


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